Those responsible for the blast which sent rocks showering down on the residents of the Lobird Trailer Park in May 2008 will likely be making a donation to a local safety organization as punishment for their oversights, but they're still waiting to hear how much they will have to pay.

The Department of Community Services, PS Sidhu Trucking and William Cratty were found guilty of allowing an unsafe blast to be conducted on the Hamilton Boulevard extension project on the afternoon of May 6, 2008.

Blaster Peter Hildebrand designed, built and set off the blast, which threw rocks into the nearby neighbourhood. He pleaded guilty to conducting an unsafe blast and was fined $1,000. The other three accused were found guilty after trial in May of this year.

When Judge John Faulkner of Yukon Territorial Court delivered his verdict this past spring, he indicated fines might not be appropriate because that would mean two of the accused (Cratty and his employer, PS Sidhu) would end up paying their fines to the third accused (the Yukon government), which would pay itself.

Speaking on behalf of the workers' compensation board, prosecutor Lenore Morris suggested the money be given to the Yukon Federation of Labour, as a contribution to a planned $250,000 memorial to injured workers.

As Kurt Dieckmann, the board's director of safety, explained outside of the courtroom Thursday, the compensation board had given Morris a list of possible recipients, and the federation of labour was the one she ultimately settled on.

At Thursday's sentencing hearing, Morris said the government should be fined $50,000 for its failure to ensure a safe worksite.

As she said in her submissions, the Department of Community Services, which was in charge of the project, failed to consistently apply its extensive safety policies on the Hamilton Boulevard site.

A government safety inspector checked Hildebrand's design, the court heard during trial, but failed to notice or point out that the trailer court was just 100 metres away from the blast site, not 400, as Hildebrand had estimated.

"This is the kind of government bureaucracy that makes people despise government,” Morris said.

As for remorse for the incident which sent bread-box sized rocks through one family's roof, nearly striking a resident, "I haven't seen any of it yet,” she said.

Judy Hartling, the Department of Community Services' lawyer, disagreed with Morris' suggestions of the fine amount and the money's destination.

She argued that her client should pay a fine of $5,000, and proposed the money be given to the Northern Safety Network, a government-funded society which provides safety training to employers and employees.

As for PS Sidhu Trucking, the company which had the blasting contract and employed Hildebrand and his supervisor Cratty, Morris said there was no indication of remorse there either.

"(Sidhu's lawyer) forwarded an ‘accidents happen' defence,” the prosecutor said.

The incident was a result of the contractor trying to save time and money by not properly covering the blast site, she said.

PS Sidhu's lawyer, Brian Beresh, denied that characterization, and called Morris' suggestion of a $40,000 fine "excessive.”

After outlining his client's history – Sidhu came to Canada from India in 1976, settled in Whitehorse and opened a laundromat before getting into the trucking business – Beresh described the 55-year-old man as " a very conscientious corporate citizen”.

Sidhu's policy is to "put safety first,” Beresh said. This is the first time Sidhu or his company has been charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

"The company was not in a hurry” to finish the project, Beresh said.

He pointed out there was no bonus promised for finishing early, nor any punishment for going over schedule. Nor was there any suggestion during trial that this was a case of cutting corners, he said.

Beresh suggested a fine no greater than $10,000. He said his client has already been punished first by the temporary closure of the site after the incident and the negative publicity he has received because of the mishap. Sidhu lost an estimated $500,000 because of the whole affair, Beresh said.

Finally, Morris said Cratty, Hildebrand's direct supervisor, should be fined $10,000 for his role in the incident.

Cratty's lawyer, André Roothman, countered that "Mr. Cratty's role is very insignificant when compared with the Yukon government's,” and said he should be fined no more than $2,500.

He also objected to putting the money toward a "$250,000 monument,” and agreed with Hartling's suggestion it go to the Northern Safety Network for safety training.

The judge reserved his sentencing until Oct. 15.