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Corporate Criminal Liability
Bill
C-45
is now law
(March 31, 2004)
 |
Neglecting workplace health and safety has
become a crime under the Criminal Code punishable up
to life imprisonment. |
Bill C-45, federal legislation that addresses
workplace safety and corporate liability
became law on March 31,
2004.
This legislation is the final outcome of a federal
government review prompted by the Westray mine disaster
in Nova Scotia in 1992. The bill modernizes the law of
criminal liability of organizations to reflect the
increasing complexity of today's corporate structures.
In particular, Bill C-45 will make organizations
criminally liable:
| as a result of the actions of senior officers
who oversee day-to-day operations but who may not be
directors or executives
|
| when officers with executive or operational
authority intentionally commit, or direct employees to
commit, crimes to benefit the organization
|
| when officers with executive or operational
authority become aware of offences being committed by
other employees but do not take action to stop them
|
| when the actions of those with authority and other
employees, taken as a whole, demonstrate a lack of
care that constitutes criminal negligence. |
Bill C-45 also:
| imposes a legal duty on all those who direct work,
including employers, to take reasonable measures to
protect the safety of employees and the public
|
| provides that wanton or reckless disregard of this
duty, which causes death or bodily harm, would result
in a charge of criminal negligence. |
If there is an accident, injury or
fatality, you could be charged by the Ministry/Department of Labour.
Over 50% of all Ministry/Department of Labour
charges are for ... "failure to adequately train".
Don't get Caught ... Get WSIT!
The WebWSIT
Training Program not only teaches your people
Health and Safety, but saves all the information in a
database. If you are ever asked for training records,
you simply "Click" on the
Inspector's Report and print.
References:
Department of Justice Canada, News Release, "Parliament
Passes Bill C-45: Stronger Laws Affecting the Criminal
Liability of Organizations" (October 31, 2003), online:
Department of Justice Canada.
Bill C-45, An Act to amend the Criminal Code
(criminal liability of organizations), 2d Sess.,
37th Parl., 2003 (3rd reading October 27, 2003), online:
Parliamentary Internet.
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