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B.C. Judge Clears Asbestos Contractor Of Contempt, Says Workplace Law Too Vague

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Feb, 2016 12:39 PM

VANCOUVER — A B.C. Supreme Court judge has tossed out allegations that an asbestos-removal contractor and his son disobeyed a court order to follow workplace-protection regulations, saying the law is too difficult to understand.

Justice George Macintosh has ruled that Seattle Environmental Consulting Ltd. owner Mike Singh and his son Shawn Singh are not in contempt of court after WorkSafeBC complained the pair didn't follow workplace regulations designed to prevent exposure to asbestos.

Macintosh describes the Workers Compensation Act as complex and daunting to the untrained eye, and says a 2012 court order against the two men didn't specify clearly enough how to follow it.

But the judge stopped short of overturning that initial court order, as requested by the Singhs.

In 2013, the B.C. Supreme Court found the men in contempt of court for disobeying the 2012 order and fined them a total of $15,000.

The Singhs have filed a lawsuit against the Workers Compensation Board for discriminating against them based on their South Asian heritage, but the suit has been rejected and is working its way through the appeal system.

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