The City of Regina has been fined $100,000 for violating the province’s health and safety regulations.

The province fined the City after an employee suffered a serious injury.

The injury occurred in December 2020 when a heavy shipment of bus shelter glass fell on the employee as it was being unloaded in a shipping container.

Barry Lacey, the Executive Director of Financial Strategy & Sustainability, said the City admitted their guilt in provincial court on Wednesday.

“This was too small a space to do the work safely,” he said. “Due to the limited space in the container, the employee could not move out of the way of the glass as it fell on him, causing significant injuries.”

Lacey said it’s never acceptable when an employee is injured.

“At the time, the City of Regina did not have the right safety practices and policies in place to protect that worker.”

Lacey said after the incident, the City had implemented new policies and procedures, eliminating health and safety risks regarding handling bus shelter glass.

“Bus shelter glass is now handled by workers in a safe, open space, not inside shipping containers,” he explained. Crates containing bus shelter glass but be fully secure for safety; training requirements for employees uncrating glass have been revised, and before handling bus shelter glass, employees must now review and sign off on safety procedures.”

Lacey added that the City of Regina extends a public apology to this individual injured on the job, accepts responsibility for the unsafe conditions that led to those injuries, and remains fully committed to protecting the health and safety of its workers.