A Canora man is facing a charge of criminal negligence causing bodily harm after allegedly exposing a young employee to carbon monoxide, leaving the teen hospitalized.
According to the RCMP, the alleged poisoning occurred at a business on Norway Road in the community northeast of Regina in 2023.
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“Police officers determined that on October 23, 2023, a 14-year-old employee was exposed to carbon monoxide while employed and on shift at the business,” the Mounties explained in a statement.
“A person of authority had asked the employee to use, inside their place of work, a gas-powered device that was designed for outdoor usage.”
The RCMP said the young employee was first taken to a hospital in Canora and then transferred to Alberta after the carbon monoxide exposure.
“Canora RCMP were not contacted when the initial incident occurred in 2023 and immediately began investigating when information related to the incident was reported to them in 2024,” the RCMP noted.
According to the RCMP, police first received a report abut the case on May 3, 2024, and the man who allegedly told the young employee to use the gas-powered equipment was arrested on August 28.
He’s now facing a charge of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and was released ahead of a court appearance in Canora scheduled for October 2.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous and flammable gas. It’s produced when carbon-containing fuels, such as gasoline, wood, or natural gas, aren’t burned completely. Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the most common types of fatal air poisonings.
Acute exposure can lead to long-term neurological effects such as cognitive and behavioural changes. Chronic exposure to low concentrations of carbon monoxide can lead to lethargy, headaches, nausea, and flu-like symptoms and, in a worst case scenario, severe exposure can ultimately lead to unconsciousness, coma, and death.
“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer,” Regina Fire Marshal Randy Ryba explained in a previous interview with 980 CJME.
“It’s about the same buoyancy as air, so it moves through the house. It’s odourless, colourless, and our call volumes go up dramatically in the heating season. People actually do a lot of running of vehicles in attached garages. We don’t recommend that; that stuff can scrub into the house and cause issues, for sure.”
–with files from 980 CJME’s Roman Hayter