Calypso could face $20M in fines
Charges against waterpark for safety violations ‘very serious’
A year-long investigation into safety at a water park southeast of Ottawa has resulted in 20 charges under the province’s Technical Standards and Safety Act.
The Technical Standards and Safety Authority began its investigation into Calypso Theme Waterpark last summer after several complaints from the public and media reports of serious injuries at the amusement park.
“This is probably the most comprehensive investigation of an amusement park that we’ve conducted,” said TSSA spokesman Wilson Lee.
The charges filed Tuesday stem from incidents on the Pirates Aquaplay, Steamer and Bobsleigh slides in 2011 and 2012. Some of the incidents resulted in serious injuries.
Two of the charges, which have not been proven in court, relate to an incident on the Orange Bobsleigh on June 19, 2012, the day two men were taken to hospital after one bobsleigh-style inflatable tube crashed into another on the slide. One charge alleges the operator didn’t run the slide safely, prematurely sending park visitors down on a tube while another tube was caught in the slide. The other alleges the operator didn’t have the knowledge, training or experience needed to operated the slide, and failed to make sure the slide was clear before sending down the second tube.
One of the two families injured in the crash has filed a $1.3 million lawsuit, alleging it left Marek Strelec with permanent and serious damage, including a fractured skull, hearing loss and fractured vertebrae.
Calypso has denied the allegations in a statement of defence, saying the Strelecs were negligent, not the waterpark.
The Strelecs failed to listen to instructions from employees, “failed to take reasonable care for their own safety,” “placed themselves in a position of danger,” “failed to remove themselves from the slide in a timely manner,” and “were fatigued, ill, or under the influence of an intoxicant or medication,” the statement of defence said.
In an emailed statement late Tuesday night, Calypso owner Guy Drouin called the charges “disappointing.”
“My staff and I have worked closely with TSSA since these issues were first raised two years ago,” Drouin said. “That I was meeting with the agency as recently as last month with no outstanding concerns raised and then to have these charges laid is very disappointing.”
The TSSA also charged Calypso Tuesday with not shutting down a slide called the Steamer after repeated incidents “that constituted an immediate hazard to the safety of a person.” Several other charges were filed against the park with not reporting an incident where people were injured on the Steamer in 2011.
The park also faces charges of not having enough operators and attendants, and of operators and attendants not having enough training. Some of those charges relate to Calypso’s Pirate Aquaplay slides, described on the park’s website as a “magnificent ship designed for youngsters to lose themselves in hundreds of water games.”
Each of the 20 charges carries a maximum fine of $1 million.
“These charges are very serious and what makes them more serious is the volume,” Lee said. “When these rules are not complied with, the risk of injury increases substantially, as happened at Calypso the last two summers.”
But according to Lawrence Greenspon, a lawyer representing Calypso, the charges the waterpark faces are an “abuse of power.”
“The laying of these 20 charges is a surprising abuse of power,” said Greenspon. “All of these allegations have been addressed to ensure the public’s safety. They are already the subject of another process with the same Ministry responsible for TSSA.”
Lee said Calypso will remain open and the first appearance on the charges is scheduled for Aug. 22.