April Newsletter

OHS in Practice:
What a Recent Alberta Farm Court Case Tells Us

This article is intended to bring attention to how OHS legislation is being applied to farming and ranching operations only.

What Happened

In March of 2023, a farm worker was dumping gravel on a road approach to a field when the box of the truck contacted an overhead power line. The worker was standing outside the vehicle at the time, operating the controls to raise the box. The worker was fatally injured.

What the Farm was Charged With

The farm was charged with the following seven counts under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act:

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of a worker engaged in the work of that employer who was electrocuted while operating an end dump trailer box near an overhead power line.

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by failing to establish, implement and enforce a safe work procedure for operating equipment near an overhead power line.

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by failing to ensure the worker maintained a safe distance between an end dump trailer box and an overhead power line.

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by failing to provide the worker with a spotter while the worker was raising an end dump trailer box near an overhead power line.

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by failing to ensure the worker followed the operator’s manual for the end dump trailer, in which an operator must ensure that overhead clearance is adequate before hoisting an end dump trailer box.

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by failing to ensure the worker complied with section 4(1)(c)(iii) of the Commercial Vehicle  Dimension and Weight Regulation.

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act: Failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by failing to comply with section 4(1)(c)(iii) of the Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight  Regulation.

These charges accused the farm of a failure to take reasonable steps, which are requirements under the OHS Code, such as those listed in Part 2 Hazard Assessment, Elimination, and Control, and Part 17 Safe limit of approach distances. Although the defence lawyer successfully argued the case, it still took three days in a courtroom, and a number of pre-trial applications, before the charges were withdrawn. More details about this case are publicly available on the Government of Alberta’s 2026 Prosecution outcomes and appeal status page.

Important Takeaways

This case highlights that the OHS Code is made up of basic, reasonable steps, and that farms are still expected to take those steps — even when the OHS Code does not directly apply to them.

• When it comes to anything related to law, definitions matter. The OHS Act does not define what basic safety standards are, nor is the author aware of anyone receiving a clear written explanation as to what Alberta OHS considers “basic standards” to be.

• Both the OHS Act and OHS Code provide “minimum standards” for health, safety, and wellness in Alberta’s workplaces. These minimum standards” put in place the most basic, reasonable steps an employer would need to take to protect the health and safety of their workers and are the result of many years of consultations between industry, education and research groups, and the government.

• Employers are responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the workers engaged in their work as far as reasonably practicable (Alberta OHS Act, S3(1)). In some cases, even the minimum laid out in the OHS Code may not reflect what is reasonably practicable for the employer, the work and/or the circumstances.

• It is critical that the farm completes and documents its own well‑thought‑out hazard assessments and does not rely on generic templates from outside organizations. When done properly (i.e., it identifies all of the unsafe or dangerous conditions, including those that could be expected to develop, and appropriate hazard control measures are put in place), injuries and fatalities are prevented, and the farm can show that it did everything reasonably expected of it.

• If an OHS Officer comes to the farm following a serious incident and performs their own hazard assessment, they will identify any unsafe or dangerous conditions, as well as what was or was not done to control the conditions. If the OHS Officer finds that the farm did not identify a hazardous condition it reasonably should have or did not take the necessary steps to control the hazardous condition, the farm can expect enforcement actions, some of which can have serious consequences.

Get working on your farm’s safety program with the help of AgSafe Alberta. We offer many free, online tools and resources on our website, and also provide up to 10 hours of free, on-farm support to qualifying farms. To learn more, visit agsafeab.ca, refer to the Alberta FarmSafe Plan Manual and the free, online FarmSafe Plan Learning Program.