Worker died during storm restoration work
A New Brunswick judge has ordered N.B. Power to pay $75,000 in connection with the 2023 workplace death of power linesman Colin Hume, after the utility admitted it failed to have a written emergency transportation procedure for injured workers at a remote job site.
The sentence was handed down in provincial court in Moncton, where Judge James H. Burrill ordered that the full amount be paid to WorkSafeNB for the provision of additional safety training, CBC News reported.
N.B. Power pleaded guilty in February to one Occupational Health and Safety Act charge alleging it did not prepare in writing a procedure for getting injured or ill employees from their place of employment to the nearest health-care facility, Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) previously reported. The remaining four charges were withdrawn.
Circumstances and investigation
The case stems from a Jan. 17, 2023 incident in Fundy Albert, in a wooded area off Albert Mines Road near Hillsborough. Two N.B. Power power line technicians were working on storm restoration after freezing rain and snow had knocked out power to thousands of customers across New Brunswick.
Both workers fell from a pole during the work. Hume, 47, of Ritchie, a community between Woodstock and Fredericton, died of his injuries, while the second worker was hurt, COS reported.
Crown prosecutor Maurice Blanchard told the court that Hume and fellow linesman Scott Markowski were working from a wooden utility pole when it suddenly snapped, sending both men falling more than 15 metres to the ground, CBC reported. The pole was later determined to be defective, unknown to the crew or the utility.
WorkSafeNB conducted an 18‑month investigation and, in late October 2024, laid five charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, COS reported. The withdrawn counts alleged failures to provide instruction and training on safe ice removal, to take every reasonable precaution for worker safety, and to provide a first-aid kit at the work site.
COS previously reported that N.B. Power had pleaded not guilty in February 2025 and a three‑week trial was scheduled to begin on 16 March 2026. That date was ultimately used for sentencing following the utility’s change of plea.
Emergency response and safety planning
In a statement of facts read to the court, Blanchard described how crew members had difficulty reaching 911 because of spotty cellular service. When they did get through, they had to find the nearest house to obtain an address for the emergency operator, CBC reported.
When co-workers realised Hume had stopped breathing, they attempted to move him out of the woods to speed access to medical care. Hume was placed on a co-worker’s lap in a “basket box” towed by a snowmobile while crew members administered CPR on the way to Albert Mines Road, according to CBC. Paramedics continued resuscitation efforts at the roadside, but Hume was pronounced dead.
The court heard that N.B. Power has a policy requiring a “tailboard” meeting before work begins to review hazards and safety procedures, but no tailboard form was filled out before the incident, CBC reported. Defence lawyer Clarence Bennett told the court that power line technician is “one of the most dangerous jobs that there is in the province” and said the utility has “significant safety training and protocols,” but acknowledged that “for reasons that can’t be explained, it wasn’t filled out” that day.
