You Can Be Fined – Even If No One Gets Hurt

If a Ministry of Labour inspector sees something on your jobsite that contravenes the Occupational Health and Safety Act, you can be fined whether or not that contravention results in an injury. The Ministry fines workers and supervisors as well as employers and constructors.

Here are a few examples. The hazards that provoked these fines were discovered during routine inspections or during an investigation.

In May 2006, several workers on a multi-residential project found to be exposed to a fall hazard of approximately six metres (20 feet) without any fall protection. The constructor was fines $12,500.

The same thing happened on an ICI project in July 2006. Several workers were exposed to a fall hazard of approximately six metres (20 feet) with no fall protection. This time the constructor was fined $18,500.

In November 2006, a constructor was fined $10,000 because workers were exposed to a fall hazard on a scaffold platform. There wasn’t a proper guardrail system on the scaffold.
As a final example, a worker was carrying out electrical work on a multi-residential project without proof of the necessary qualifications. The worker was fined $195 for not being compliant with the Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act (TQAA).