Excerpt from the OH&S Canada magazine (October 2016)
A judge fines a farm owner $18,000 on August 26, 2016, in connection with a fatality in 2015.
According to a court bulletin from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the incident occurred during construction of a bridge over a ravine at White Meadows Farms in St. Catharines on January 22, 2015. A group of workers was trying to move a concrete block weighing nearly 1,300 kilograms onto a pad at the top of the ravine. As a tractor was lifting the block, the chain holding the load slipped off the tractor’s forks and the block rolled down the ravine slope, crushing another worker.
A Ministry investigation found that the owner had failed to ensure that his employees had been moving the block safely.
My opinion
The Farming regulation 414 is very vague and has little or no teeth.
If this had been an ‘Industrial’ facility, then section 45, of the Ontario ‘Industrial Establishments’ sector regulation 851/90 has been contravened.
Section 45, subsection (a) states,
“Material, articles or things,
- required to be lifted, carried or moved, shall be lifted, carried or moved in such a way and with such precautions and safeguards, including protective clothing, guards or other precautions as will ensure that the lifting, carrying or moving of the material, articles or things does not endanger the safety of any worker.”
Mind you, it is still better than the legislation in the province of Alberta. Farm and ranch workers there have little or no protection under the law.
Go figure.
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.
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 & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.