A former employee for Best Green Hedges told court on Tuesday that he did not receive any workplace safety training prior to the
death of his 20-year-old coworker
two years ago.
Nicholas Chenier, a foreman for the hedge-trimming company, was working at a residential property on Jean Park Road in Manotick on May 5, 2023. He was electrocuted when the hedge trimmer he was using touched a 16,000-volt power line in the hedges.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Chenier was using an aluminum ladder and a battery-powered hedge trimmer before he was electrocuted.
He was pronounced dead an hour after the incident.
Best Green supervisor Steven Deans is charged with criminal negligence causing death. On Monday, he
pleaded not guilty to the charge
.
Crown attorney Anne Fitzpatrick alleged in her opening statement on Monday that Deans showed a “reckless disregard” to
Chenier’s life
by directing him to work in dangerous conditions without proper training and equipment, violating Ontario labour laws.
Marc-André Gosselin, Chenier’s helper on May 5, 2023, was called to testify on Tuesday.
Speaking to the court through a French interpreter, Gosselin said he regularly operated hedge-trimming tools while standing on ladders at best Green Hedges, something he had done before while working in Quebec.
He said Deans only provided verbal training when he was first employed by the company, but didn’t recall what was said.
Gosselin also said he was not required to take a basic health and safety course, nor was he provided with a copy of Occupational Safety Training Outline 2013 by the company until after the death of Chenier.
Occupational Safety Training Outline 2013 is basic occupational health and safety training that all employers must provide to employees and supervisors. It outlines duties, rights, common hazards, roles of safety bodies and the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHIMS).
Deans also only provided verbal and visual training on how to position and use a ladder, Gosselin said. He said he was never shown how to use an aluminum ladder around energized power lines before the incident.
Gosselin also said Deans never taught him to use power equipment. He said he was not required to read the operator manual for any gas-powered hedge trimmer he used, nor Deans provide further training on the use of those tools.
However, Gosselin said Deans did verbally and visually show him how to operate those tools while on a ladder.
Gosselin went on to testify that Deans did not provide any training about how far he needed to be from energized power lines, but there were informational stickers on the tools that the supervisor had told them about.
“When we had the tools in our hands, we had stickers on the tools that remind us of the distance (to be from energized power lines),” he said.
Gosselin noted, however, he had previous experience with gas- and battery-powered hedge trimmers after working for a Quebec landscaping company for four years.
Company had a culture of safety
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Mark Ertel asked Gosselin if company owner Shelden Bestgreen was also involved with training employees at the hedge-trimming company.
The lawyer also asked Gosselin if it was well-known among company employees that neither Bestgreen nor Deans would require them to work if they felt conditions were dangerous.
Gosselin answered yes to those questions and added he was able to refuse any dangerous work.
“This was the culture at Best Green, that everyone would be working safely?” Ertel asked.
“Yes,” Gosselin answered.
Gosselin noted helpers weren’t allowed to work while on ladders during the initial stages of employment. They were only allowed to hold ladders, clean up work sites and use trimmers on the low side of hedges.
The job was like an apprenticeship where people learned on the job, he said, and it was normal for a helper to spend several summers learning how to trim hedges before becoming a foreman.
Gosselin also said he had a good relationship with Deans. Deans would make sure he knew how to use equipment properly and treated him with respect.
“Sometimes dangers would be apparent on the ground, obviously. And then you would expect whoever did the estimate for the property to make a note of those dangers on the work order?” Ertel asked.
“Yes,” Gosselin said.
“But the person who does the estimates, that person is not up on a ladder looking at the top of the hedge, right?” Ertel asked as a follow-up.
“No,” the landscaper answered.
Gosselin also said any dangers and hazards at a work site would have to be identified by the foreman on the day of the job.
Cross-examination was expected to continue on Wednesday.
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