In Canada, workers have given up their right to sue their employer or fellow workers for workplace injuries, and employers agreed to fund a no-fault workers' compensation insurance system, in what has been termed the historic compromise. However, the scope, coverage and protection from liability under such schemes varies from province to province. In some circumstances, directors may be personally liable for claims, offences or assessment under provincial workers' compensation and occupational health and safety regimes. Recently, the Alberta Court of Appeal affirmed that directors in Alberta could, in some circumstances, be personally liable for injuries that occurred in the workplace.
The Alberta Workers' Compensation Act provides that directors are not workers under the Alberta statutory scheme except when they apply for and receive coverage. Where directors are without coverage in Alberta, they may not be entitled to protection from private causes of action for workplace personal injuries.
In Hall v Stewart, 2019 ABCA 98, the defendant, a director of a construction company, was sued...
