A B.C. company working on the new F.H. Collins Secondary School has been fined $2,300 for violations of the territory’s gas-burning devices legislation.

Shawn Madu, part-owner of Kelowna-based Christman Plumbing and Heating, pleaded guilty in territorial court this morning on behalf of the company to failing to obtain gas fitter licences and a permit to install gas equipment.

Both are required under the Yukon’s Gas Burning Devices Act regulations before work begins on a site.

Government lawyer Tracy-Anne McPhee said that last spring, a mechanical inspector in the building safety branch became aware that Christman had purchased several boilers and gas appliances for the F. H. Collins project.

He confirmed that the department had issued no gas-installation permit. On April 2, the inspector took a tour of the site and found “virtually all of the piping work had been done,” said McPhee.

Some of it had already been covered over by roofing and other barriers to enclose it, she said. No gas appliances were yet hooked up.

Not only was there no permit, but the workers had B.C. gas fitter licences, not the required Yukon ones. To get a Yukon licence, a propane gas examination must be completed.

“It’s not onerous, it’s not difficult, it’s not time-consuming, it’s not expensive,” McPhee said of the process.

At the site, a stop work order was issued while inspectors examined the piping. It was all done properly and did not have to be removed, they concluded.

A permit was then issued by the department for the work that had already been done, and a second permit was issued for continuing work.

An aggravating factor in the case is that the branch’s manager had reminded Christman that it would need to obtain a permit after the company was awarded the contract in the spring of 2014, McPhee said.

She noted the “primary goal” of the legislation is community safety, which is particularly relevant in this case, with a school involved.

There have been court cases in the past of B.C. companies not realizing or ignoring the fact that their provincial licences aren’t effective here, McPhee said.

The maximum fine typically imposed in these cases has been $2,000 for each charge.

But in this case, McPhee said $1,000 per charge would be appropriate, because the company was co-operative with the investigation and the work was done properly.

Madu told Judge Donald Luther it was also Christman’s first offence in the Yukon or British Columbia.

He said the company had done everything possible to co-operate with the process and is taking the proper measures to get permits and licences.

Christman also worked on the new Dawson City hospital and is now working on the Carcross learning centre, Madu said.

Luther imposed the $2,000 total fine for both charges, plus a $300 surcharge.

Madu said he would pay it today.