Sunterra Horticulture fined $70,000 after worker injured in Saskatchewan

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Sunterra Horticulture, which bills itself as a “boutique producer of premium Canadian sphagnum peat moss products,” has been fined $70,000 by a Saskatchewan court following a workplace injury.

The company pleaded guilty in Yorkton Provincial Court to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.

The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on September 16, 2021, near Hyas, Saskatchewan, where a worker was seriously injured while attempting to dislodge a pallet and bale of peat moss.

The company was fined for contravening clause 3-1 (a) of the regulations (being an employer at a place of employment, fail to provide and maintain plant, systems of work and working environments that ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of the employer’s workers, resulting in the serious injury of a worker).

As a result, the Court imposed a fine of $50,000 with a surcharge of $20,000, for a total amount of $70,000.

One additional charge was withdrawn.