Four people were injured in a ski lift accident at West Kelowna’s Crystal Mountain in 2014. More than eight years after a terrifying ski lift accident at the now-defunct Crystal Mountain Resort in West Kelowna, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal has ruled that a former ski patroller injured in the incident is entitled to compensation through WorkSafeBC. But the patrolman had argued that he shouldn’t. On March 1, 2014, two chairs on the ski hill fell to the ground when a cable went missing. Four people were injured in the crash, including volunteer ski patrollers Kevin Gourlay and his partner Maegan Harvey. The resort has never reopened since the accident. Both Gourlay and Harvey initially filed claims with WorkSafeBC seeking compensation for their injuries, but their claims were dismissed after WorkSafe concluded that the claimants were volunteers. As a result, the couple subsequently filed civil lawsuits against Crystal Mountain in 2016, and separate trials on both matters were scheduled to begin in the summer of 2019. However, just before the trials were to begin, Crystal Mountain applied for a postponement of the trials while the resort appealed the WorkSafe decision. The Workers’ Compensation Act prohibits an employee from suing their employer if they receive compensation from WorkSafeBC. Crystal Mountain said WorkSafe had denied Gourlay and Harvey’s claims based on “incomplete information”. In addition, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal had recently ruled that volunteers may be considered ‘workers’ under the Act where they receive some benefit from their volunteer work. At one point, Harvey’s action against Crystal Mountain was “settled,” but it’s unclear whether she settled her case with the resort or how much money a potential settlement would involve. A third person injured in the incident, Lawrence Waldenberger, has settled his civil suit with Crystal Mountain. More than three years after Crystal Mountain filed its claim with the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, the tribunal ruled last month that Gourlay should be considered a “worker” and that “his injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment within of the scope of the law’s compensation provisions.” Gourlay, meanwhile, opposed Crystal Mountain’s application to WCAT and argued that he was a volunteer ski patrol who should not be covered by Workers’ Compensation Act compensation. It’s unclear why Gourlay took this position on the application, having first applied for WorkSafeBC coverage before filing his lawsuit, but Gourlay likely won’t be able to pursue his lawsuit against Crystal Mountain now that he meets the conditions for compensation through WorkSafe . Gourlay’s attorney, Vahan Ishkanian, told Castanet he was unable to discuss the matter as it is “before the courts.” In its ruling, WCAT noted that Gourlay received a season pass in exchange for nine ski patrol shifts during the 2013/14 season, which was worth $449 or $695 depending on when the pass was purchased. “While the value of the season ski pass, when calculated based on the number of hours plaintiff had worked, was less than minimum wage, I do not view the value of the ski pass as insignificant,” wrote Guy Riecken, vice president take the WCAT to its decision. “I conclude that plaintiff’s provision of ski patrol services was part of Crystal Mountain’s business organization and that the business routines of the relationship between plaintiff and Crystal Mountain were more consistent with employment than volunteerism.”
