Vernon contractor who refused WorkSafeBC access gets fined

A Vernon construction company that refused to identify themselves or show a first-aid certificate to a WorkSafeBC inspector has been fined $2,500.

According to a May 2 WorkSafeBC Inspection Report, Keerat Holdings, told a WorkSafeBC inspector they didn’t “have a last name and does not answer questions” when the inspector turned up at the construction site.

The company then told the WorkSafeBC inspector: “This is private property and (the officer) is not to enter without explicit permission.”

The inspector was then stonewalled when he asked to see a first aid certificate.

“We are not going to show you anything,” the company replied.

Unsurprisingly, this didn’t sit well with WorkSafeBC, which issued a $2,500 fine.

“A person must provide all reasonable means in that person’s power to facilitate an inspection under the Occupational Health and Safety provisions,” the report says.

Keerat Holdings is the company behind Hilltop Manor, a four-storey, twenty-seven-unit condo complex being built at 4001 34A Street in Vernon.

The development was controversial with many nearby residents strongly opposed to the building. Vernon council rejected the developer’s original plan, leaving the developer to scale back the building.

The WorkSafeBC report says Keerat Holdings is the employer and also the prime contractor for the site, but individual names are redacted.

The report says WorkSafeBC turned up at the construction on April 29 for a site inspection.

“I asked the employer to provide the first aid attendants certificate, the employer refused. I asked the (redacted) directly for their first aid certificate and they refused to provide it,” the inspector says in the report.

“I observed a first aid trailer and requested the prime contractor to accompany me on an inspection relating to first aid provisions as identified in the first aid procedures. The employer refused. At the time of inspection, the first aid trailer was locked and access to the trailer was blocked, with no safe access,” the report reads. “This would delay the provision of first aid to an injured worker. The trailer was also locked with a padlock. The employer has not ensured first aid services can be promptly provided.”

The report says the company refused to accompany the inspector and prevented them from doing an inspection.

“I discussed with the employer representative their obligation to do everything in their power to facilitate the inspection as required by the Workers Compensation Act. The employer continued to obstruct the inspection. Due to the employer obstructing the inspection, I was unable to confirm first aid attendant certificates and first aid provisions at this workplace,” the report reads.

The report says the company representative refused to give their name.

WorkSafeBC then ordered the company to fall in line.

When the inspector returned two weeks later, he got a different reception.

“The employer provided access to the workplace for inspection purposes,” a follow-up report states, noting the company had updated its first-aid procedures.