A foreman accused of manslaughter in the death of a worker in Burnaby "laughed" at the suggestion of worksite safety meetings, according to another worker who testified at his trial this week.
Thomas Richer was seriously injured when a concrete retaining wall collapsed into a storm- and sewer-line trench in a lane behind Edinburgh Street in North Burnaby in October 2012.
His co-worker, 28-year-old Jeff Caron, was crushed to death.
Their employer, J. Cote and Son Excavating Ltd., was charged more than 11 years later with criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing injury.
Their foreman, David Green, faces the additional charge of manslaughter.
Both pleaded not guilty at the beginning of their trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Monday.
Richer was the first witness called to the stand.
In contrast to the other employers he had worked for in the Lower Mainland, Richer told the court he was never given a safety orientation at J. Cote, and his foreman, Green, never held so-called "toolbox meetings" – short meetings to make everyone aware of dangers at the work site.
"They were laughed at when I brought them up," Richer said.
Richer also testified about safety concerns he had had on other J. Cote projects before starting at the North Burnaby site, including one incident on Pitt Lake Road where he said he had witnessed a bank collapse into an excavation, narrowly missing Green and Caron, who were in the trench at the time.
Richer said he hadn't gone into the trench because he thought it looked unsafe.
In her opening remarks, Crown prosecutor Louisa Winn said the Crown will seek to prove Green had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to workers under his direction and he had breached that duty.
She said the Crown would also present evidence to prove J. Cote's liability was grounded in the same acts and omissions as Green because he was their "senior officer" at the time of the incident.
The Crown expects to call 14 witnesses during the six-week trial, including two more co-workers, a neighbour who took photos of the excavation as the project progressed, a City of Burnaby official, the project manager, the field inspector, three engineers, two WorkSafeBC safety officers, a WorkSafeBC director and a pathologist who will testify about Caron’s cause of death.
Richer's testimony is expected to continue Tuesday. He has not yet faced any questions from defence lawyers.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
Email [email protected]
