Blog Post #518 – Honta Trading International Inc. Fined $70,000 after Worker Injured

Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’

Honta Trading Intl Inc., a Markham handbag importer, was fined $70,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.

On November 28, 2011, at the company’s Markham warehouse, a temporary worker was offloading pallets full of goods from a truck and placing them along the edge of a racking system. Meanwhile, on the other side of the racking system, a second worker was using a forklift to put pallets full of goods on the shelves. As the second worker was removing a previously placed pallet from a shelf, the pallet teetered and fell off the back of the racking system onto the first worker.

Honta Trading International Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the pallet was removed from the storage rack in a way that did not endanger the safety of a worker.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Grainne Forrest. In addition to the fine, the court 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:

Honta Trading International Inc. was found guilty of violating section 45, subsection (c) of the Ontario ‘Industrial’ regulation 851/90 which states,

“Material, articles or things,

(c) to be removed from a storage area, pile or rack, shall be removed in a manner that will not endanger the safety of any worker.”

The working world expects safety issues to be addressed BEFORE the work is to be done. Why not! Everyone is entitled to work in a safe work environment. Anything less would be dangerous would be immoral, unethical, and quite possibly criminal. If the employer does not identify, assess and control the hazards in the workplace, then the Ministry of Labour (MOL) will do it for them, usually at a very high cost.

What do you think? I would really like to know.

Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”

HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs including ‘Forklift Certification’, ‘Material Handling’ and ‘Forklift Re-Certification’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.

We can also be reached at 

‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.

Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.