| Docken & Company News |
Fatality Inquiry Report to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General
(1/27/2009) Justice Peter Barley, in his December 29, 2008 report, recommended that paid employees on farms be covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.A. 2000 Ch. 0-2, and that the Department of Agriculture develop programs to minimize risks in farming workplaces.
This report is the result of a fatality inquiry into the death of Kevan Chandler, who died in June 2006 when he was buried by grain in a silo he was cleaning at his farming workplace.
The report finds that in order to help prevent future, similar deaths, the following guidelines be established:
1. No entry be made into a silo beneath the top level of the grain contained inside, unless that grain is resting at an angle of less than 45 degrees.
2. There must always be at least one person outside the silo when another person is inside cleaning. This allows them to watch for signs of trouble, signal for assistance if needed, and start immediate attempts at rescue.
3. Written hazard assessment forms should be prepared for use each time that an activity known to be dangerous is undertaken by an employee on a farm. These forms should be kept at the site of the expected undertaking. The results of the undertaking should be recorded and kept available for review.
4. A portable instrument suitable for summoning help be available when a hazardous operation is being conducted.