A recreational equipment supplier will pay $200,000 in workplace safety penalties after one of its workers died at a hockey rink in a small town east of Edmonton.

Global Sports Resources Ltd. pleaded guilty to a single charge under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code and was sentenced on Oct. 31 in Sherwood Park Justice Court.

The worker died on March 21, 2022, at the community rink in Tofield, a town of about 2,000 people 68 kilometers east of Edmonton.

The worker was performing demolition and rehabilitation work when a support beam came loose and hit him. The worker fell 1.5 meters from a ladder and was fatally injured.

Global Sports Resources was convicted of failing to take all reasonable steps to secure equipment or material that could become dislodged and injure a worker.

According to the charges, the beam that failed was located on a tailgate, a piece of hydraulic equipment that allows heavy cargo to be lowered to the ground from the back of a truck.

Creative sentence

Global Sports Resources Ltd. was ordered to pay total penalties of $200,000 as part of a constructive sentence.

Creative sentences established in OSH prosecutions direct penalties that would otherwise be paid as fines to organizations or projects that promote workplace safety.

Under the creative sentence, the company will pay $75,000 to STARS Air Ambulance for operational costs.

The company was also ordered to pay $100,000 to the Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association. The association will use the money to help develop and implement a fire line awareness campaign and safety training course.

Government officials said the company was also placed under two years of heightened regulatory oversight.

Five other safety charges against Global Sports Resources were dropped by the Crown. Seven charges under OHS legislation against Reward Construction Ltd, related to the same incident, were also suspended.

Global Sports Resources, based in Leduc County, specializes in the design, manufacture, supply and installation of equipment for sports facilities, with a focus on arenas and rinks.

Company officials could not be reached for comment.

Both the companies and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal.