Worker suffered ‘multiple blunt-force trauma’
Irving Shipbuilding Inc. has been fined $150,000 after pleading guilty to a safety violation under Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) in connection with the 2024 workplace death of Halifax Shipyard worker.
Jamie Knight, 43, a member of Unifor Marine Workers Federation Local 1, died on Feb. 19, 2024, after he was struck by snow‑removal equipment at the Halifax Shipyard. Halifax Regional Police responded at about 11:40 a.m., and Knight was pronounced dead at the scene, according to earlier reporting by Canadian Occupational Safety (COS).
In Halifax provincial court, an agreed statement of facts indicated the operator had raised “a bucket full of snow so high he couldn’t see Knight,” who was walking across the yard wearing dark clothing and earbuds, CBC News reported. The statement said Knight suffered “multiple blunt-force trauma.” CBC reported that Irving was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, failing to create a safe work plan for snow removal, eliminating the need for a trial.
Fine, education fund and safety review
CBC reported that Judge Kelly Serbu accepted a joint recommendation from Crown and defence, imposing a $65,000 fine, a $9,750 victim fine surcharge and a $75,250 payment to the Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Education Fund. Of that contribution, $50,000 will go toward a Nova Scotia Community College bursary in Knight’s name.
According to CBC, Irving has also undertaken a comprehensive review of its safety procedures under the oversight of the provincial Labour Department, focusing on snow-clearing operations and the interaction of mobile equipment and pedestrians. The company has spent more than $900,000 on reflective clothing for all Halifax employees and has installed concrete barriers and clearly marked pedestrian routes in the area where Knight was struck, CBC reported. The court-ordered safety review carries a two‑year deadline, with the possibility of further charges if requirements are not met.
The guilty plea resolves one of five OHSA charges originally laid by a Labour Department investigator in June 2025, with the remaining counts expected to be withdrawn after sentencing, COS reported. Those earlier charges alleged failures including risk assessments for snow clearing, adherence to manufacturer specifications for a wheel loader, and the designation of a competent signaller.
Unifor has called on prosecutors not to abandon those counts. The union said it “urges the Crown to uphold all charges levied against Irving Shipbuilding under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, following the company’s guilty plea to the lesser charge of failure to create a safe work procedure or plan for snow removal,” according to the report.
“Every worker has the right to return home safe, healthy, and whole,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said, according to CBC. “This guilty plea is a reminder that we cannot wait for tragedy to take workplace hazards seriously. Prevention must be the foundation of workplace safety, not a lesson learned after a life is lost.”
Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray added that “in the wake of workplace tragedies, justice delayed is justice denied,” stressing the union’s focus on “securing the systemic changes needed to guarantee that every worker returns home safe at the end of their shift.”
