Convicted: Pro Renovations Solutions Inc.,11-4040 Creditview Road, Suite 193, Mississauga, a company subcontracted to make repairs to an apartment building in Peterborough, Ontario.
Location of Worksite: Clonsilla Avenue in Peterborough.
Description of Offence: A worker on a 10-storey building lost balance at the roof edge and fell to the ground, sustaining critical injuries as a result. The worker was not protected by any form of fall protection while on the roof.
Date of Offence: November 1, 2016
Date of Conviction: November 27, 2017
Penalty Imposed
- The company was fined $60,000 in Peterborough Provincial Offences Court, 70 Simcoe Street, Peterborough, by Justice of the Peace Peter J. Hiscox. Crown Counsel: Jai Dhar.
- The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Background
- Several Pro Renovations Solutions employees were setting up a swing stage on the roof of the building. Another employee went to the roof to bring a wrench to the workers who were setting up the swing stage. That worker was not protected by any form of fall protection while on the roof.
- After giving the wrench to a co-worker, the worker went to another part of the roof to assist others, lost balance at the edge of the roof and fell 10 storeys to the ground below. The worker sustained critical injuries as a result of the fall.
- On November 1, 2016, Pro Renovations Solutions Inc. failed as an employer to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 26.1(2) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (the Construction Projects Regulation) were carried out at the workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Section 26.1(2) states that “if it is not practicable to install a guardrail system… a worker shall be adequately protected” by one of the following fall protection methods: a travel restraint system; a fall restricting system; a fall arrest system or a safety net.
-Ministry of Labour