Head of embattled Worksafebc to retire
The head of B. C.’ s chief safety agency, which is under fire for its botched investigation into the deadly 2012 Babine sawmill explosion, is stepping down.
The retirement of WorkSafeBC CEO David Anderson was announced quietly just a week after Premier Christy Clark blasted the agency’s handling of the investigation, which did not lead to charges.
But WorkSafeBC says there’s no connection between Anderson’s retirement and the handling of the case.
“I want to emphasize it is a retirement. He is not being fired and he is not quitting,” WorkSafeBC spokesman Scott McCloy said in an email Wednesday.
“Dave informed the board of directors last year that he would be retiring in 2014. As you can imagine, the job of president and CEO requires a major sacrifice of time and attention, and as Dave will soon turn 65, he felt it was his time to retire, which means he will not be seeking other employment and he will not receive severance.” Anderson turns 65 on May 5. Labour Minister Shirley Bond, who had not ruled out disciplinary action as a result of the bungled investigation, was not available for an interview Wednesday.
Anderson, who will remain on the job until June 30, is not giving interviews, said McCloy.
The CEO was paid $ 403,362 in the 2012- 13 fiscal year. Anderson’s retirement was announced on WorkSafeBC’s website on Feb. 20.
The announcement took place just one week after the premier released the findings of an internal review she ordered into the investigation and lack of charges in the deadly sawmill explosion in Burns Lake that killed two workers.
The review conducted by Clark’s deputy minister, John Dyble, concluded that WorkSafeBC paid “insufficient attention” to important legal precedents regarding the legitimate gathering of evidence for prosecutions, even though the Criminal Justice Branch had previously shared its concerns on the issue. The premier said she was “deeply disappointed” with how WorkSafeBC had conducted the Babine investigation.
A similar investigation method was used into a second deadly sawmill explosion, also in 2012, at Lakeland Mills in Prince George. The Crown is expected to announce a decision on Lakeland charges soon.