Workplace Health and Safety Negligence: Ontario Supervisor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

On September 21, 2020, 53-year-old Denis Garant died after losing control of his dump truck and crashing into a tree. He had already reported steering problems with his vehicle to his supervisor, Milton Urgiles. Despite the warning, the latter took no action. What happened next? Urgiles was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal negligence.

An Explicit Warning That Went Unheeded

The day before the fateful accident, Garant, who had been on the job for less than a week, sent his supervisor a text message to say that “the steering cuts in and out.” Instead of taking the truck out of service and inspecting it or having it inspected, supervisor Urgiles—who’s married to the company’s owner—ignored the report and gave Garant instructions for the next day’s work assignment.

At the sentencing hearing, the Crown requested a six-year sentence, while the defence suggested a two-year conditional sentence, which would have allowed him to serve his time under house arrest.

The judge presiding over the case rejected the defence’s appeal for leniency, deciding that a heavy prison sentence was warranted despite Urgiles having expressed remorse. Her message was clear: gross negligence causing death calls for more than just a conditional sentence—it’s punishable by a long prison term.

A Landmark Prison Term in Canada

This is the harshest sentence ever imposed on an individual for criminal negligence in occupational health and safety (OHS) in Canada. Previously, another Ontario court case known as R. v. Kazenelson had set the benchmark. A site supervisor, having been found responsible for the deaths of four workers who fell from a swing stage when it collapsed, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Note that, on March 31, 2004, the Criminal Code was amended to include subsection 217.1, which imposes a clear obligation on anyone in a supervisory role:

“Every one who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task.”

That means that anyone supervising a job has a duty to act positively to protect the physical integrity of others, which obviously includes their employees. Any marked deviation from expected standards (e.g., occupational health and safety laws and regulations) may lead to a conviction for criminal negligence. In fact, the Supreme Court of Canada described such behaviour as “reckless disregard” in the 1990 case of R. v. Anderson.

More Criminal Prosecutions, Real Risks

Although prosecutions for OHS criminal negligence are still relatively rare in Canada, they’re on the rise. To date, they’ve targeted both companies and supervisors personally. One thing is certain—ignoring health and safety reports can have serious legal consequences. Concrete measures need to be taken quickly. 

In the case in question, Urgiles wantonly ignored a direct complaint about problems with the dump truck’s steering. Less than 24 hours later, his failure to act resulted in Garant’s death. If a person in a position of authority does not have the necessary knowledge to investigate a health and safety issue, they must ensure that an inspection is carried out by a qualified person.

Supervisor Training: A Must

The case serves as a warning to employers—companies need to train and inform people who are hired for, or promoted to, supervisory positions. The health and safety of the employees they oversee is at stake, as well as their own personal legal liability.

Helpful Reminders

The lessons of this case are relevant to not only employers in the construction industry, but the industry as a whole. Carrying out one’s duties of foresight, efficiency and authority is paramount.

Employers should be sure to:

• Question new supervisors about their OHS knowledge;
• Provide them with a copy of the OHS policies and procedures, and make sure they read them;
• Equip them with OHS management tools;
• Raise their awareness of the real or potential consequences of their inaction.

BCF supports and trains employers and their representatives in occupational health and safety and labour relations. Our team can guide you when it comes to OHS and accountability training for your supervisors.