WorkSafeBC investigation alleges 'systemic failure' to manage workplace safety at Oakridge worksite

WorkSafeBC claims a "systemic failure to manage workplace health and safety" has plagued Vancouver's multibillion-dollar Oakridge construction site, according to court documents obtained by CBC.

A search warrant executed last month following an incident in which a piece of scaffolding fell 41 stories to an open zone near a public roadway says "multiple" statements made by the project's prime contractor indicate "the site is too large, [which the contractor is] unable to control and they have site pressures."

The document — sworn in Vancouver provincial court — details the rationale for a WorkSafeBC investigation into the worksite and Ontario-based construction giant EllisDon.

"EllisDon has repeat high-risk violations where controls were known, yet they have not put them in place, " the search warrant says.

"The overall approach to health and safety by the employer was ineffective, creating a systematic failure to manage workplace health and safety. EllisDon has not been able to control and manage exclusion zones and overhead work and safely co-ordinate work activity at the site."

In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for EllisDon denied the allegations and said the company "is committed to the highest level of safety, not only on this job site but on all of our projects."

"We continue to co-operate fully with WorkSafeBC in all respects," a spokesperson wrote.

The $6.5-billion redevelopment of the 11-hectare Oakridge site occupies roughly eight city blocks and includes 14 towers that are being built to provide 3,000 homes for nearly 6,000 residents.

Developers Westbank and Quadreal describe the project — which includes 300 stores and a giant park — as both one of the single biggest developments in Vancouver's history and "one of the most monumental redevelopments currently underway in North America."

Concerns about safety at the site were raised last February when a tower crane dropped its load, crushing a woman working on the ground below. The victim, Yuridia Flores, was a mother of two from Mexico.

WorkSafeBC is still investigating that incident. On July 30, another file was opened in relation to the scaffolding incident, which occurred as a steel base plate came loose from its wire restraint and fell to the ground, "likely striking the building and ricocheting outward."

"No workers or members of the public were injured. However, the potential for serious injuries or a fatality is significant," the search warrant says.

The information sworn to obtain the warrant was written by Special Provincial Const. Jordan McLellan, a former RCMP officer who works with WorkSafeBC's Occupational Health And Safety Investigations team  — the unit which investigates serious and fatal workplace incidents.

The document says McLellan's unit is investigating EllisDon and two Alberta-based subcontractors. The warrant was sworn to search and seize records from the Burnaby office of one of the subcontractors.