Worker dies after falling through sea ice
Four companies in Nunavut will pay a total of $300,000 for a new training initiative following the death of one worker.
The companies – B2Gold Back River Corp. (formerly named Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (Sabina), Matrix Aviation Solutions Inc., Matrix Kitikmeot Ltd. (Matrix Kitikmeot) and Gallant Restorations Incorporated – reached an Alternative Measures Agreement (AMA) agreement with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) on Tuesday.
The AMA relates to charges under the Safety Act and Mine Health and Safety Act handed to the companies in relation to the death of Vincent Crowe.
On Jan. 17, 2022, Crowe – a Matrix Kitikmeot employee – was clearing snow from the ice road onsite at Sabina’s Back River Gold District Project near Bathurst Inlet in Nunavut. The D6-T Dozer he was operating went through the sea ice near a pressure ridge on the ice road.
The charges include failure to implement and maintain work practices, failure to ensure the health and safety of all persons at a work site, and neglecting or refusing to provide information relating to the safety investigation.
“Under the terms of the agreement, the Involved Companies are required to commit $300,000 towards the creation of a Training Initiative focused on the safe construction, operation and maintenance of ice roads for the benefit of all territorial employers,” said the WSCC. “The training has an emphasis on identifying and controlling hazards associated with such work and will be designed for workers, site supervisors, project managers, contractors and subcontractors.”
The training initiative will be developed in memory of Crowe and is intended to help prevent similar incidents from occurring in future, said the government agency.
Late last year more than 28 charges were laid under the Alberta Health and Safety Act in relation to an incident that led to the death of oilsands worker Patrick Poitras. He was also operating a bulldozer on ice when it broke through and he drowned in a tailings pond.
The Alberta government created a field guide to working safely on ice covers. It suggests vehicles weighing 500 kilograms or more need a minimum ice thickness of 38 centimetres, and also has speed limit recommendations to safely operate on vehicles on the ice. Machines with loads weighing more than 5,000 kilograms need at least 55 centimetres. These recommendations also depend on the amount of time the vehicle will be in one place.
