Syncrude Canada will pay $390,000 for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker.

On April 4, 2024, the company entered a guilty plea to one charge of failing to ensure the safety of a worker under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The legal action comes from a June 6, 2021, incident near Fort McKay. An excavator operator drowned after their machine slid into the water while building a berm.

Under a creative sentence, the company will pay the money to the David and Joan Lynch School of Engineering Safety and Risk Management, the University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre, and the Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association.

The funds will be used to develop an employer best-practice guide and field-ready mobile app for trenching, excavation, and adjacent work. These will provide real-time training, work planning, and decision support to enhance safe work practices.