Irving Shipbuilding pleads not guilty in Halifax Shipyard hurt worker case

A lawyer for Irving Shipbuilding entered a not guilty plea today to charges under Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker suffered a serious head injury at the Halifax Shipyard in 2014.

Mick Ryan entered the plea during a brief hearing in provincial court and set a date of Dec. 8 for the two sides to return to discuss trial dates.

Ryan said outside court that he expects a trial would take up to six weeks because of the amount of disclosure in the complicated case, though the Crown said they would need only five days.

An information to obtain a search warrant filed with the court says the charges relate to work that was being done on Canadian Coast Guard patrol vessels on Jan. 3, 2014.

An occupational health and safety officer alleges in the document that a wire rope loop attached to a ship's cradle broke as it was being pulled by a winch, striking a worker employed by Irving Equipment Ltd. in the head.

The charges allege that Irving Shipbuilding did not ensure the operator of a machine or tool was competent and that it failed to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of people at or near the workplace.