WorkSafeBC will get a major overhaul of its serious investigation department and repeat offenders will face stiffer penalties more quickly after two botched deadly sawmill explosion investigations led to no charges by Crown counsel.
And sawmills that have have failed wood dust inspections will now have to pay for daily independent inspections, said B.C. Labour Minister Shirley Bond after she accepted all the recommendations in a special report she commissioned.
The report — authored by former B.C. government bureaucrat Gord Macatee — also calls for two more directors to WorkSafeBC’s board to add regulatory and occupational health and safety expertise.
WorkSafeBC was widely critized — including by Premier Christy Clark — for botching the sawmill investigations in which a lack of search warrants, and not making those interviewed aware of their right to remain silent, meant that some evidence would not stand up in court.
“Action will be taken immediately on key recommendations around worker safety,” said Bond.
“There are other recommendations that will take some time to fully impement because they require consultations, legislation or policy changes at WorkSafeBC,” she said.
The report also calls for the ability for WorkSafeBC to issue escalating penalties more quickly to offenders.
Citations, which would be similar to a speeding ticket, will be introduced. A similar system has just been introduced in Saskatchewan.
The time that it takes to issue stiffer fines — called administrative penalties — will also be shortened.
The report revealed that a the fourth round of inspections this spring found 15 per cent of sawmills failed to meet wood-dust standards. Another 40 per cent of other wood manufacturing facilities such pellet plant and oriented stand board plants failed the dust standards.
While the sawmill dust compliance rate was an improvement from an earlier 42 per cent failure rate, more improvement is needed, said Bond.
Wood-dust was pinpointed as the source of explosions in 2012 in northern B.C. at Babine Forest Products and Lakeland Mills which each killed two workers. Dozens more workers were seriously injured, some with severe burns.
