Worker's death after Cantley blast leads to criminal negligence charge
A man responsible for blasting at a western Quebec construction site is now facing criminal charges after the death of a worker in 2022.
A 46-year-old man from L'Ange-Gardien was pronounced dead at a hospital after the explosion on Sept. 8, 2022. The explosion was meant to clear a residential plot of rock on chemin Denis in Cantley, north of Gatineau.
Quebec's employee watchdog CNESST said last year the explosion was neither properly planned nor carried out, leaving the unnamed victim, who was working in an excavator, within the blast range.
On Monday, municipal police said they'd arrested the unidentified 30-year-old from Thurso earlier this month.
He'll face charges of criminal negligence causing death and breaching his duty of care around explosives, MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais police said in the news release.