However, victim's sister is not satisfied
Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI) and two other companies are facing charges for failing to ensure worker safety that led to the death of a civil engineer in 2020.
Included in the case filed to the provincial court in late March by occupational health and safety investigator and special constable Terry Duggan are the Brunswick Engineering and Consulting Inc. of Saint John, N.B. and the GEMTEC Consulting Engineers and Scientists Ltd. of Fredericton, NB.
The victim was a civil engineer working for Brunswick Engineering at the time of the incident, which was contracted by GEMTEC, which was in turn also contracted by the NSPI, the CBC reported.
The victim drowned to his death while he was trying to recover a malfunctioned piece of surveying equipment underwater in a reservoir at NSPI's hydroelectric system in Sheet Harbour in October 2020.
The document filed in court stated that Brunswick Engineering, which is facing five charges, did not perform a hazard assessment before the job began, as well as secured life jackets and other floatation and standard rescue equipment.
GEMTEC, which faces six charges, was also accused of not properly overseeing Brunswick Engineering's safety plans and implement its own Health and Safety Plan as required by the Health and Safety Manual.
NSPI, which is facing four charges, is accused of failing to implement the Contract/Project requirements of the Nova Scotia Power Contractor Safety Programme. This is an offence in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, according to a report from The Canadian Press.
Spokespersons from GEMTEC and NSPI have refused to comment on the matter as they are now filed before the court.
Brunswick Engineering, on the other hand, has yet to issue a statement on the case.
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Meanwhile, the sister of the victim, who have been a vocal party in the case, have expressed mixed feelings over the charges.
"They finally did it. They charged [Nova Scotia Power Inc]," she said on Twitter.
She also told CBC News in an interview that she did not see in the court filings anything related to dams and dam safety, which she considered one of the main issues.
The victim's sister previously filed charges against the Nova Scotia's Department of Justice and Department of Labour for negligence and not providing enough guidelines and standard requirements when it comes to operations on dam usage.
Despite the recent case filed to the provincial court, the victim's sister said she will likely continue to press charges.
