Former Site C manager files wrongful dismissal suit arising from allegations of worker safety violations

A former manager with the Site C dam project has filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit alleging he was fired after he raised concerns about safety in the workplace.

Kent Peyton said that in January he was hired to get construction of the Peace River dam on schedule and on budget and that he was responsible for all high-level decision-making related to the excavation process as well as being in charge of the health and safety of all workers.

But in a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Peyton said that in May 2017 operations for a so-called cofferdam excavation site were significantly behind schedule due to inefficiencies that predated his employment.

He claims that to speed up the operations, other officials gave instructions to workers to undertake construction practices which were dangerous and likely to lead to a workplace safety incident.

Peyton said that on a visit to the site on May 10, he found that a watertight pit was severely overcrowded with workers and heavy equipment including at least seven excavators, three bulldozers and six drills — all working in “unsafe” proximity to one another.

Peyton said he approached one of the officials and instructed him that certain of the crews and equipment needed to be immediately relocated to an adjacent work site to safeguard the health and safety of those on site but that his instructions were not followed.

Instead, he said, the official initiated an altercation between the two men and used abusive language towards Peyton in front of other workers and that the official accused Peyton of striking the official, an allegation denied by Peyton.

The wrongful dismissal suit said that on May 12, Peyton was informed that as a result of the incident, he had been barred from the Site C project work site until further notice and was formally terminated June 20.

He claims that his employers failed to properly investigate the incident and failed to discharge their obligation of good faith and fair dealing owed to him.

“Further, the employer terminated Mr. Peyton’s employment in a callous and insensitive manner, and specifically failed to act in the candid, reasonable, honest and forthright manner that was a common expectation of the parties at the outset of the employment relationship,” says the suit.

“Mr. Peyton claims aggravated damages resulting from his public humiliation by the employer as a result of the manner of the termination of his employment.”

Named as the defendants in the case are Petrowest Corporation and Peace River Hydro Partners, the latter of which holds the main civil works contract for the Site C project. No responses have been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not been tested in court.

The B.C. Utilities Commission is midway through a review of the project which was promised by Premier John Horgan in last May’s election, with the commission’s final report expected to be filed Nov. 1.

[Top photo: The Site C Dam location is seen along the Peace River in Fort St. John, B.C., Tuesday, April 18, 2017. JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS]