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A judge has ordered N.B. Power pay $75,000 over its failure to have a plan for evacuating two seriously injured employees from a heavily wooded location where they were working to repair power lines damaged by an ice storm.
The utility pleaded guilty in February to one of five charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to the death of N.B. Power linesman, Colin Hume, on Jan. 17, 2023.
Judge James H. Burrill sentenced the utility in a Moncton courtroom on Monday after hearing victim impact statements from Hume’s wife, sister, and two daughters.
“I miss him every day, every hour and every minute,” said Hume’s widow, Heidi. “I miss his smile, his laugh and his hugs … but, most of all, I miss the future we had planned.”
On the day her father died, daughter Mariah Hume said “our entire world shattered.”
WATCH | Fine for N.B. Power in 2023 workplace death:
N.B. Power fined $75,000 for workplace death
Lineman Colin Hume died in 2023 when a power pole snapped and he fell.
In a statement of facts read to the court, Crown prosecutor Maurice Blanchard detailed the events that lead to Hume’s death.
Blanchard told the court that Hume and his fellow linesman, Scott Markowski, fell more than 15 metres to the ground after the power pole they were working on snapped. The two were part of a crew working in heavily wooded terrain south of Hillsborough after an ice storm had downed trees and covered wires and poles in ice.
The wooden pole they were working on was later determined to be defective, unbeknownst to the crew or N.B. Power.
Blanchard detailed how other crew members at the scene had difficulty reaching 911 to call for help because of spotty cellular service. When workers did get through to the emergency line, they had to find the nearest house to get the address to share with the 911 operator.
When his co-workers noticed that Hume had stopped breathing, they attempted to move him to Albert Mines Road in order to access emergency care as soon as possible. The team placed Hume on a co-worker’s lap, in a “basket box” towed by a snowmobile.
Blanchard said the team were administering CPR en route but had trouble finding Hume’s pulse. Once at the road, paramedics continued CPR, but Hume was eventually pronounced dead, he said.
An ice storm in January 2023 created difficult terrain including downed trees and wires and poles covered in ice. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Blanchard said that while there was no proof that N.B. Power’s actions directly caused Hume’s death, the Crown sought a fine of $150,000 to motivate it to properly prepare safety plans in the future.
N.B. Power has a policy requiring a “tailboard” meeting outlining risks and safety procedures, but there was no “tailboard” form filled out before the fatal incident.
Defence lawyer Clarence Bennett, who represented N.B. Power, argued that a fine of $30,000 would be more appropriate, based on fines in similar cases and the utility’s existing safety procedures.
Bennett said that power line technician is “one of the most dangerous jobs that there is in the province.” That’s why N.B. Power has “significant safety training and protocols” for the job, including the tailboard form, said Bennett. But “for reasons that can’t be explained, it wasn’t filled out,” he said.
Burrill’s decision requires N.B. Power to pay $75,000 to WorkSafeNB for the provision of more safety training.
Before he gave his ruling, Burrill directly addressed Hume’s family, telling them he had read their statements multiple times and listened carefully to them again on Monday.
Burrill drew attention to a story relayed by Mariah Hume, describing a day she spent as a young girl following her father through the woods, carefully stepping in his footsteps.
“It’s a bit of a metaphor for what he’s left to all of you,” said Burrill.
“He won’t be there showing you the way and responding to calls each and every day,” said Burrill, but “he’s left a lot of big footprints that can help guide you through life.”
