Criminal negligence in the workplace: for a coherent application of the new provisions of the Criminal Code

In this paper, the author refers to attempts to apply the new provisions of the Criminal Code concerning the duty of those who have the authority to direct the performance of a work and the new provisions of the Criminal Code related to the criminal negligence liability of an organization. The author notes that the new provisions of the Criminal Code have the great potential to assert criminal negligence prosecutions not only against the organization but also against individuals such as senior officers, supervisors and other representatives. Despite this potential, the author however points out that Crown prosecutors are still reluctant to extend criminal charges to all persons involved in the supervision of the performance of the work. The author holds that given the Canadian society's intolerance to work-related death or injuries due to the lack of care of employers, to broaden the circle of those who may be charged could be a desirable option in order to ensure an optimal level of protection. However, the article stresses that social stigma associated with criminal conviction requires that, to be charged, anyone who owes a duty of care at workplace must depart markedly and substantially from the standard of care reaching the same level of gravity as the wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons. If the accused is a legal person, his failure to take preventive measures must only constitute a marked departure from what a reasonably prudent person would have done in similar circumstances.