An Ottawa tanker-truck manufacturing company and its owner are facing charges under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act nearly a year after an explosion killed six people.
The blast happened on the afternoon of Jan. 13, 2022 at Eastway Tank Pump and Meter Ltd., killing five men and one woman and causing a fire that left part of the building completely destroyed.
The province laid three non-criminal charges against the company and another three against its owner, Neil Greene, on Thursday.
The charges allege that the company failed to take precautions to protect workers and to provide information, instruction and supervision for workers — and that Greene failed to take reasonable care to ensure the company was in compliance.
Greene could face up to $100,000 in fines or a year in jail if he is convicted, and the company could be fined as much as $1.5 million.
A spokesperson for the province’s Ministry of Labour declined to comment, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
Rick Bastien, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson, Matt Kearney, Etienne Mabiala and Russell McLellan were killed in the explosion.