Orbit Garant Drilling Services is facing a $200,000 fine after being found guilty of failing to provide precautions to protect a worker in a 2014 incident that turned fatal.

The diamond drilling company was operating multiple diamond surface drills in the area of the St. Andrews Holloway-Holt mine sites east of Timmins when, on June 25, two workers were coming off shift.

One of those workers was later struck by a falling tree while exiting a bulldozer and died as a result.

The two were headed to the parking lot in the Holloway-Holt #3 mine area. Under normal circumstances, it’s said the workers would ride on an ATV, but the equipment was broken down at the time.

Thus, it was secured to a bulldozer and the bulldozer was used for transportation instead.

“Procedure dictates that only one person at a time should be in a bulldozer but on this occasion both workers were in the bulldozer,” the report from the province indicates.

“One of the workers who had been riding in the cab of the bulldozer opened the cab door to step out, when a chicot – a standing dead tree weighing more than 2,000 pounds – fell, striking the door and fatally injuring the worker,” the report continues.

The Ministry of Labour indicates after investigation that both workers were fully trained and the manufacturer of the bulldozer specifies it should only be used by one person: the operator.

“In addition,” they say, “The route of travel – a bush road – was not approved by Orbit Garant or St. Andrews.”

The courts state that it was known at the time the road they were using to and from the drill site was getting soft and muddy to the point of being impassable.

The court was told that the company should have known that workers would not walk through the conditions at the site and should have immediately provided proper transportation.

As a result of the trial, Orbit was found guilty of two things: “failing to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring the removal of all chicots on or near the travelway that provided access to the workplace” and “failing to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that a safe means of egress from a workplace was provided to workers.”

Justice of the Peace Sylvie-Emanuelle Bourbonnais imposed the $200,000 fine Thursday in Timmins.

She also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offenses Act.

The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

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