Fine in death of Regina man at N.B. wind farm a 'slap in the face,' sister says
CBC
The sister of a Regina man killed at the construction site of a wind farm in southern New Brunswick is shocked by the "slap on the wrist" penalty imposed against one of the companies involved.
Matthew Jeremy Brawn, 46, a pilot truck driver for Richards Transport Ltd. in Regina, was unloading a wind turbine tower at the Neweg Energy Project in Springdale on July 18 when he was "fatally crushed," according to a WorkSafeNB investigative report obtained by CBC News.
He was run over trying to stop a runaway trailer, known as a dolly, at the site about 18 kilometres northeast of Sussex.
Windturbine Construction Team Inc., the company responsible for installing the turbines, was charged with two counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The company was charged with failing to ensure an industrial lift truck was not loaded beyond its capacity and with failing to ensure an industrial lift truck was used only for the purpose for which it was designed.
Windturbine pleaded guilty in Saint John provincial court Monday to the first charge, and Crown prosecutor Chris Titus withdrew the second charge.
Titus told the court there was "a lot of technical jargon," but essentially Windturbine Construction "used a lift that wasn't rated for that particular size and weight."
"Effectively the gentleman went to try to disengage, put the brakes on, and it rolled back and killed him."
Titus submitted a joint recommendation of a fine of $25,000, which Judge Lucie Mathurin accepted, along with a victim fine surcharge of $5,000.
Erinn-Jane Brawn, who lives in Regina and learned about the sentencing from CBC News, was "sad and hurt."
"The amount of money they were fined doesn't seem like very much for my brother's life," she said in an interview.
"It feels like a slap on the wrist to them and maybe a slap in the face to everybody that loved Matthew."
The maximum penalty under the act is $250,000, six months in jail, or both.
"What incentive would they have to ever do anything different?" Brawn asked, referring to the fine imposed.
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