Kenneth Bertow pleads guilty to OHS violations

Self-employed construction employer, Kenneth Bertow has pled guilty to five charges under Saskatchewan’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations, and was fined a total of $2,400.

Mr. Bertow pled guilty to:

Three contraventions of Section 91(1)of the regulations for failure to provide and require a worker to use approved industrial protective headwear (fined $1,200 plus a $240 victim fine surcharge);
Contravening Section 96(1) of the regulations for failure to ensure that a worker uses approved protective footwear (fined $400 plus an $80 victim fine surcharge); and
Contravening Section 72(1)(h) of the Act for obstructing an Occupational Health Officer who is authorized to conduct an inspection, investigation, inquiry or search (fined $400 plus an $80 victim fine surcharge).

Occupational Health Officers are appointed under the Act to carry out health and safety inspections, and other work necessary to enforce the Act and regulations, on behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan. This marks the first time an employer has been convicted of obstructing an Occupational Health Officer in Saskatchewan.

These charges were the result of proactive routine inspections by Occupational Health Officers, who inspect workplaces around Saskatchewan throughout the year.

Occupational Health and Safety inspects approximately 4,000 workplaces annually and provides training to more than 4,000 employer and worker representatives each year on their safety responsibilities.