Policy gaps contributed to deadly gondola crash at Quebec’s Tremblant ski resort

A labour inspector concluded that incomplete procedures governing how construction equipment was to be moved on the property contributed to the deadly incident.

A deadly collision between a gondola and a drill rig at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant Ski Resort in July occurred, in part, because of incomplete procedures governing how construction equipment was to be moved on the property, a labour inspector has concluded.

A Canadian soldier, Sgt. Sheldon Johnson, 50, of Kingston, Ont., died in the collision, and a woman in her 50s was severely injured after they were thrown from a sightseeing gondola that was struck by the mast of a drill rig on July 16. About one week later, a Quebec labour board inspector banned the movement of construction equipment on the site because the risk was too high that another collision would occur.

The information is included in intervention reports obtained by The Canadian Press through an access to information request with Quebec’s labour board — Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).

“Information obtained during the investigation shows that the conditions that led to the crash during the movement of the drill remain present on the site, as elements are missing from the written access procedure as well as in the communication to the parties,” inspector Jean-Philippe Gaudreault wrote in a report on July 28 about his inspection four days prior.

In a preliminary report completed on site on July 24, Gaudreault wrote, “there is no complete written procedure for moving construction machinery on the Mont Tremblant resort site.” And the incomplete procedure that was in place, he said, wasn’t known by everyone working at the well-known ski hill.

Gaudreault ordered on July 24 that before construction workers could resume moving machinery between work sites, operator Station Mont Tremblant must establish clear procedures and ensure that they are communicated with contractors. He also instructed the resort operator to “ensure that all accesses to the mountain are controlled and that the barriers cannot be bypassed by construction machinery.”

The drilling rig involved in the collision was being used in a project to replace a snow-making system on one of the ski trails.

Station Mont Tremblant did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.