No charges expected in 2016 Vanscoy death, partner says
The provincial government is not expected to lay workplace safety charges in connection with the death of 29-year-old Chad Wiklun in a fatal incident at Agrium Inc.’s Vanscoy potash mine two years ago.
Wiklun was grievously injured in the early hours of Aug. 8, 2016, when he was pinned between two large pieces of equipment deep underground at the mine west of Saskatoon. He clung to life for three days before slipping away.
Celina Danis, his partner and the mother of their daughters, Casey, 10, and Carsyn, eight, said government officials told her shortly before the second anniversary of Wiklun’s death that charges under occupational health and safety legislation would not be filed.
“There’s no charges being laid, which I was completely fine with until I found out that Chad’s case is the only one in the last few accidents that there’s no charges being laid. Now we’re kind of wondering why,” she said.
The head of the union representing workers at the Vanscoy mine also confirmed that charges are not expected, a fact he described as a “huge shock” and a disappointment given that Wiklun’s death was “clearly preventable.”
Occupational health and safety charges are important not because they result in sanctions, but because they hold all employers accountable and make workplaces safer, United Steelworkers Local 7552 president Darrin Kruger added.
“A worker’s life has got to be worth something,” Kruger said, noting that the government has not made the final report of its investigation into the circumstances surrounding Wiklun’s death available.
The province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates that no prosecution can be commenced if two years have passed since the commission of an alleged offence. That window closes Wednesday.
In a statement, the provincial government confirmed that, “after reviewing the circumstances” and consulting with prosecutors, it decided not to lay charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Nutrien Ltd., the company formed when Agrium merged with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., declined to comment.
Danis spent Wednesday morning donating blood in Wiklun’s memory during the second instalment of an annual blood drive she and other members of his family organized through Canadian Blood Services last year.
In a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to save his life, hospital staff transfused more than 400 units of blood — about 180 litres, enough to affect national blood stocks — into Wiklun’s body.
Speaking with the Saskatoon Starphoenix last year, Danis said losing Wiklun opened her eyes to the importance of donating blood, and a drive “was the only thing I could think of to really make a difference.”
“A lot of times people don’t realize just how important it is to have a strong blood inventory until it affects them … To have an extra incentive, reason to come in is always good,” said Canadian Blood Services spokesman Mike Fisher.
Moments before a nurse inserted a needle into the crook of her left arm, Danis said she still misses her partner, best friend and father of their children, especially around the anniversary of his death.
“Nothing’s going to bring him back, so all we can do is move on and try to help other people.”