The wife of a man left permanently disabled after a workplace fall is joining the call for tougher rules and penalties for companies.

Angela Ryan was a guest speaker yesterday at the annual Day of Mourning ceremony for those who have died, been injured or suffered illness due to work.

Her husband Darren fell about 30 feet while trying to perform gas testing on the Terra Nova FPSO in December 2019. He suffered severe fractures, a debilitating brain injury, and at age 49 has been told he can never work again.

Suncor Energy was fined almost $100,000 under workplace regulations, with court told a safety harness was required but not enforced.

But Ryan, and many before her, says stiffer sentences are long overdue, with calls for more criminal charges and jail time.

“That day he was scheduled to do an initial gas test to verify that the space was safe for workers to enter,” she said. “It’s very ironic that my husband sustained a life-altering injury trying to protect workers; my question is, who was protecting him? (The company) received a slap on the wrist with a fine that was less than a year’s salary for a worker on the vessel.”

Seventeen workers died due to workplace injuries or illness in this province last year, with a total of 106 lost over the past five years.