President of fire safety company admits to violations

The president of an Okotoks-based fire safety company has pleaded guilty to breaches under provincial legislation.

Lawyer Robert Stack appeared in Calgary provincial court on Wednesday to enter guilty pleas on behalf of Kurt Bertrand to four of 24 charges he was facing under the Safety Codes Act.

Prosecutor Leane Lifely told Judge Cheryl Daniel that Bertrand was scheduled to face a five-day trial on the two dozen charges before a deal could be worked out.

Both Lifely and Stack asked the judge to adjourn sentencing to July 29, when Bertrand's Premium Fire Protection Ltd. is scheduled to face a sentencing hearing on 15 of the same 24 charges.

Provincial court Judge Allan Fradsham convicted the company two weeks ago, finding it did not follow a policy in which it only used properly certified and trained employees. In a comprehensive 72-page written decision, Fradsham considered testimony from the company's general manager, Stephen Butler, that the company followed such a policy and that audits were done.

“However, those were no more than declaratory statements made by Mr. Butler with little or nothing offered to support them” Fradsham wrote. “There was no actual evidence presented about what actual audits were performed or how they were performed. Indeed, the large number of reports, certificates and other records (in evidence), which show that unqualified Premium Fire employees were conducting such work, demonstrates that the policy was, to borrow from Shakespeare, `full of sound and fury signifying nothing.'”