IQALUIT, NU – June, 16, 2026 - Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) appeared at the Nunavut Court of Justice today in the matter of the charges against QEC under the Safety Act in relation to a tragic incident in Naujaat on July 5, 2024, that resulted in the death of a QEC electrician.
QEC pled guilty to a single charge under section 4(1)(b) of the Safety Act – that on or about July 5, 2024, QEC as an employer failed to “take all reasonable precautions and adopt and carry out all reasonable techniques and procedures to ensure the health and safety of every person, including Noah Paniyuk… before and during work by Noah Paniyuk on or inside the Emergency Generating Unit at the Naujaat Power Plant.”
All eight remaining charges were withdrawn at the request of the Crown.
QEC and the Crown presented a joint submission on sentence to the Court. QEC agreed to pay a fine in the amount of $240,000 paid to the Workers’ Protection Fund, plus a 15% victim surcharge. “Almost two years have passed since we lost our colleague in a tragic incident and not a day goes by that we don’t reflect on Mr. Paniyuk’s memory. Our thoughts remain with his family, his
community and all who knew him,” said Ernest Douglas, President and CEO of QEC. “No legal process can undo his loss. We accept the Court’s decision, and we will honour Mr. Paniyuk’s memory through the actions we take, every day, to ensure safety remains at the core of everything we do at QEC.”
Following the incident, QEC conducted an internal investigation and shared its findings with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC). QEC cooperated fully with WSCC’s investigation.
The agreed statement of facts confirms that QEC had the required safety program and training in place at the time of the incident. QEC recognizes, however, that safety policies, procedures and training have to be applied, reinforced and lived every day.
Immediately following the incident, QEC imposed a company-wide safety standdown and took the emergency generating unit at Naujaat offline. QEC has continued to ensure compliance with its safety policies through internal and independent external audits, annual worksite inspections, mandatory training, and regular safety meetings. In addition, QEC has adopted a new safety management system, streamlined the incident reporting process and has purchased additional rescue hooks for all emergency and modular generator units. QEC also established the Noah Paniyuk Scholarship in May, 2025.
QEC will continue to work closely with regulators and employees on its safety practices in support of every employee returning home safely at the end of each day.