Government charged in fatal boiler blast

Federal health and safety inspectors laid eight charges againstPublic Works and Government Services Canada on Tuesday overa boiler explosion that killed an engineer working near Parliament Hill.

The charges against the federal department were filed exactly one year after an explosion at the Cliff Central Heating and Cooling Plant at 1 Fleet St., the building that heated the Houses of Parliament,killing 51-year-old shift engineer Peter Kennedy. Two other workers were injured, one seriously.

The charges, laid under the Canada Labour Code, are for health and safety violations at the heating plant, and carry penalties of up to two years in prison or a $1-millionfine. Tuesday marked the final day charges could be brought against the government under the Statute of Limitations.

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt apologized for the unsafe conditions at the plant during question period Tuesday.

"It is true that my officials have conducted a thorough review of the matter and charges have been laid against Public Works Government Services Canada for health and safety violations," said Raitt.

"We are committed to safe and healthy workplaces and we will continue our efforts to ensure that that's the case," Raitt said.

But the NDP's Paul Dewar, MP for Ottawa Centre, said the revelations about safety violations at the heating plant show the need for thegovernment to be more accountable as an employer.

"This is the federal government. This is the institution who writes the laws, is actually flaunting the laws," Dewar said. In documents obtained by the CBC, investigators who visited the plant in April say they found a series of basic safety violations, which are detailed in the series of directives ordering Public Works to fix the problem.

The investigators saythe plant had no proper emergency procedure,employees hadn't been shown standard operating manuals and the company servicing the boilers wasn't certified to do the work.

Unprecedented charge

Although an individual charged could face serious legal consequences, the charges against Public Works create an unusual situation. A federal department can't be sentenced to jail, but a fine would be purely symbolic, since the money would go right back to the federal government.

Individuals involved, from employees of the contractor in question all the way up to government staff, could theoretically face charges. At the time, Conservative MP Christian Paradis was the minister of public works, the department ultimately responsible for the plant.

Under Bill C-45, employers who knowingly allow unsafe conditions to persist can now face criminal charges of up to life in prison and unlimited fines if an accidental death occurs at their workplace.

No government in Canada has faced such a charge, but there have been three such cases against employers.

The plant was decommissioned after the blast and its replacement could costtaxpayers as much as $250 million. A temporary plant constructed in the interim cost $42 million.

Public Worksemployees are expected to hold a stone-laying ceremony at the site of the explosion to mark the anniversary of Kennedy's death Tuesday evening.

"I too would like to acknowledge and send my sympathy not only to the family of Mr. Kennedy, but to all Canadian families and friends who have lost loved ones on the job. Especially since no words can take away the sorrow that they feel," Raitt said during question period.