Insulation company fined more than $200K after worker death near Fort McMurray

Mildred Lake at a Syncrude facility, as seen from a helicopter tour of the oil sands near Fort McMurray, Alta., on July 10, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

An insulation contract company was fined $210,000 after a worker died at an oil sands site near Fort McMurray.

According to an Alberta government release, Pacific Rim Industrial Insulations Ltd. pleaded guilty on Monday in a Fort McMurray court for “failing to ensure a worker used a travel restraint system where the worker could fall a vertical distance of three metres or more.”

The insulation and metal cladding contractor died after falling through an opening while replacing a metal roof at a Chemtrade facility at a Syncrude Mildred Lake site on June 8, 2023.

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The $210,00 fine included a 20 per cent victim fine surcharge and the company was placed on 18 months of “enhanced regulatory supervision,” according to government officials.

The Crown withdrew three other counts related to the workplace fatality. Both the company and Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the decision.

Pacific Rim Industrial Insulations Ltd. is headquartered in Surrey, B.C. with an office in south east Edmonton.