Cypress Mountain Resort operator fined $132K for 2023 worksite death

WorkSafeBC has fined the operator of Cypress Mountain Resort a little more than $132,000 in connection with a fatal incident therein October 2023.

At the time, West Vancouver police said a 26-year-old man from Ontario, whose name was not provided, was part of a crew involved in dismantling a coaster-type ride on Oct. 3, 2023.

Police said at the time the man was pinned under a front-end loader, however WorkSafeBC refers to the machine as a telehandler forklift.

According to WorkSafeBC, the man was operating the machine andexited the cab to check on the forklift's load. The agency said the forklift started rolling and then tipped and landed on the worker.

The resortin West Vancouver is one of three ski resorts on Metro Vancouver's North Shore.

WorkSafeBCclaims in a summary of the penalty posted online that its investigation determined the resort operator failed in multiple ways prior to the fatality:

• It failed to ensure loads that could shift during transportation were restrained.
• It failed to ensure the equipment was capable of safely performing its functions.
• It failed to ensure workers received adequate operator training for lift trucks and were made aware of likely health and safety hazards during their work.
• It failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety.

WorkSafeBCsays all of the violations were high risk.

CBC News has contacted Cypress Mountain Resort for a comment on the WorkSafeBC fine but has yet to receive a response.