Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
Two workers employed by Farm Boy Company Inc. were dismantling a walk-in cooler at a warehouse facility in the Ottawa area. One of the workers used a scissor lift elevated work platform to step on the roof of the cooler to unscrew metal plates attached to the roof panels. The roof collapsed, causing the worker, who was not wearing fall protection, to fall over 10 feet to the concrete floor below. The worker sustained injuries as a result. The accident happened on June 01, 2021.
Although the employer had a written fall protection policy and provided workers with fall protection equipment and the worker had received general working at heights training, the employer did not provide them with site-specific working at heights training. Further, no information or instruction was provided to the worker with respect to how to safely dismantle the cooler.
Following a guilty plea in the Ontario Court of Justice, East Region, Farm Boy Company Inc. was fined $90,000 by Justice of the Peace Anne M. Colterman; Crown Counsel, Alessandra Hollands.
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.
My opinion
The law(s) in contravention:
FARM Boy Company Inc. was found guilty of a contravention of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) section25, subsection 2(a) which states,
“An employer shall,
- provide information, instruction, and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker.”
Simple, isn’t it? All the worker requires is all the information and competent supervision necessary to do a task safely. I guess Farm Boy did not get the memo.
Things are a little different in Nova Scotia, but here in Ontario, we expect safety to be the “Overriding Priority.”
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
We can also be reached at www.hrsgroup.com.
Ensure your workplace is a safe place.
Remember – In Ontario, “All accidents are Preventable”
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
CEO and Training Director
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