N.S. shellfish giant Clearwater Seafoods hit with $150K penalty after worker's death

Nova Scotia shellfish heavyweight Clearwater Seafoods has been come to with a $150,000 penalty after the dying of a worker in 2024.

george c. Scott Dicks was 36 years older when he died on board the clam-fishing vessel Anne Risley, which was docked for maintenance in Mulgrave, N.S.

After sentencing Wednesday in Port Hawkesbury provincial court, the victim's sister, Patricia Osmond, said she doesn't know if the penalty is enough, but she hopes it will help protect others.

"How do you put a price on a life? There is no price," Osmond said outside the courtroom. "Nothing could replace what I lost.

"No one else should have to live what we went through. I'm all for the fines and the money for safety measures, because at the end of the day, everybody deserves to go home."

Clearwater Seafoods pleaded guilty to two charges under Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Dicks was electrocuted after touching a space heater that had been improperly rewired.

The 440-volt space heater had a five-prong plug, but the only outlets that would take that kind of plug were in the engine room. An unnamed employee cut the head off the plug and replaced it with a four-prong plug to match the outlet in the cook room, where Dicks and three others were working.

The fisherman from Grand Bank, N.L., left behind a fiancée and three children.

Along with Osmond, Dicks's mother, Ellen Keeping, and his fiancée, Nicole House, submitted victim impact statements.

They said no amount of money will heal their pain, but they hope improved workplace safety will be Dicks's legacy.

Court was told Clearwater Seafoods operates 15 vessels and six processing plants in various countries, with more than 1,000 employees in Canada and annual revenue in excess of $575 million in 2024.

In a joint sentencing recommendation, the company agreed to a penalty that includes:

Crown prosecutor Paul Niefer said it's difficult to compare the total penalty to others levied in workplace deaths because each case is different, but the Clearwater penalty is mid-range.

"The hope is that it does send a strong message to other companies and that the fine is significant enough that Clearwater recognizes that it's not just business as usual," he said.

"It's not a mere licence fee for illegal activity."

Court was told there were several mitigating factors in Clearwater's favour, including early co-operation on the investigation and early guilty pleas.

In addition, court was told the company has voluntarily funded a safety course at Holland College, provided a trust fund for one of Dicks's children who was not covered by life insurance, and is dedicating a playground in his name back home in Newfoundland.

Niefer said the company went "beyond the scope of compliance orders" and provided "significant and compassionate support" for the family.

Outside court, Clearwater officials declined to comment, but offered condolences to the family, many of whom worked for or still work for the company.

Osmond said for her, the sentencing was more about her brother than it was about penalizing the employer.

"I'm hoping that this is an end and a journey to getting better," she said.

"I just hope he's never forgotten. Clearwater has been good to me and my family. Sad situation ... And I just want people to know how loved and how much Scott is missed."

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Reporter/Editor

Tom Ayers has been a reporter and editor for 40 years. He has spent the last 22 covering Cape Breton and Nova Scotia stories. You can reach him at tom.ayers@cbc.ca.

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