Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
A $300,000 fine was levied against Essar Steel Algoma Inc., In mid-October, following the death of a worker two years ago. The penalty was ordered in the wake of a fatality at the company’s steel mill on October 30, 2008. A guilty plea was entered regarding the company’s failure to ensure that appropriate overhead guarding was in place to prevent falling material from harming a worker, notes the MOL in Toronto.
Excerpt from the Government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
Ford Motor Company of Canada has been fined $850,000 for violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after two workers were killed in separate incidents.
On Jan. 31, 2008, a worker was fatally injured at Ford’s Oakville, Ont., assembly plant after being crushed between two forklifts. The worker was standing beside a forklift when a co-worker reversed another forklift into the worker. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the forklift operator did not keep a clear view of the vehicle’s path of travel while reversing.
The final report from the Sunrise propane explosion, in August 2008, has been published. The T.S.S.A., (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) reported illegal truck-to-truck transfers at Sunrise as early as 2006 BUT issued warnings only. Where was the tough stand needed! A couple of deaths, including a fire fighter, were the catalyst to drive even greater safety measures in Ontario.
My problem stems from the fact that there were other explosions, including the very large one on November 09, 2004 at the Caledon Propane and Storage facility on Port Darlington Road, Bowmanville which was one of the largest blasts to occur since the propane explosion during 1961 in Maple Ontario. Since zero deaths occurred at the Bowmanville facility then there seemed to be no immediate need for any corrective action which, may of course, saved the lives of those lost at Sunrise. At the time, the Clarington municipal government was considering relocating the depot. This same position was discussed in the wards and local ratepayers associations around the Sunrise compound.
As a Training Director for a Peterborough, Ontario-based company, HRS Group Inc., I have access to information concerning health and safety from all parts of Canada. As a member of the C.S.S.E. (Canadian Society of Safety Engineering) we are constantly inundated with the many accidents in the workplace all across Canada, any subsequent fines or jail time, and any possible corrective action applied to ensure the accident(s) do not have a recurrence.