Southwest Glass Products Inc. Fined $50,000 After Worker Injured

Court Bulletin

Ministryof Labour

12-19 For Immediate Release

March 22, 2012

Southwest Glass Products Inc. Fined $50,000 After Worker Injured

London, ON – Southwest Glass Products Inc., a Toronto glass manufacturer, was fined $50,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.

On September 9, 2010, at the company’s London plant, a worker was unloading glass sheets from a mechanized conveyor. The worker stumbled and reached out to stop from falling. The worker’s hand made contact with a mechanized roller on the conveyor and was pulled around the roller. The worker lost a finger and a tendon.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the employer had installed a guardrail in front of the conveyor but it was removed by workers to make their job easier. At the time of the incident there were no other protective devices to prevent workers from accessing the rollers on that part of the conveyor.

Southwest Glass Products Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the conveyor was guarded to prevent access to its moving parts.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Jacob Bruinewood. 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.

Village of Point Edward Fined $75,000 After Worker Killed

Court Bulletin


12-16 For Immediate Release
March 6, 2012


Sarnia, ON – The Corporation of the Village of Point Edward was fined $75,000 today for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.

On January 30, 2010, members of the village’s paid volunteer fire department were participating in ice water rescue training. After doing swimming and floating exercises, the workers were instructed to swim out to a moving sheet of ice, climb it, and ride it down the lake. Some of them could not climb the ice floe and attempted to swim back to shore. One worker, unable to climb onto shore, was pushed by the ice floe under its surface. The worker was trapped under the ice floe for about four minutes. The worker was removed but died due to being trapped in the cold water.

A Ministry of Labour investigation determined that although there was rescue equipment in one of the fire trucks parked on shore during the exercise, there was no equipment readily available to pull the worker onto shore.

The Corporation of the Village of Point Edward pleaded guilty as an employer to failing to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that adequate rescue equipment was available for the ice water rescue training exercise.

A related charge against an individual is still before the courts and is scheduled for a trial in May.
The fine was imposed by Justice Deborah Austin. 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.


www.hrnc.ca

New Water Plumbing Inc. Fined $100,000 After Worker Killed

Court Bulletin

12-15 For Immediate Release
March 5, 2012

New Water Plumbing Inc. Fined $100,000 After Worker Killed

Toronto, ON – New Water Plumbing Inc., of Thornhill, was fined $100,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.

On December 23, 2009, two workers from New Water Plumbing Inc. were in the mechanical room of a Toronto condo tower. They had taken a large exhaust fan out of its housing. As the workers were moving the fan, a light fixture they had swung out of the way swung back and hit the fan. Part of the light fixture was damaged, allowing its electrical charge to contact the fan. The worker who was holding the fan at the time was fatally electrocuted.

New Water Plumbing Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the fan was lifted, carried or moved in a way that would not endanger a worker.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Mary Anne Ross Hendriks. 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.

For further information:
Media contact:
Matt Blajer
Ministry of Labour
416-326-7405

Court Information at a Glance
Location: Ontario Court of Justice
70 Centre St.
Toronto, ON

Judge: Justice of the Peace Mary Anne Ross Hendriks
Date of Sentencing: March 1, 2012
Defendant: New Water Plumbing Inc.
Matter: Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction: Ontario Regulation 851, Section 45
Crown Counsel: David McCaskill

www.labour.gov.on.ca
www.hrnc.ca

Accessible customer service standard for AODA effective January 1, 2012

QUICK FACTS

• Accessible customer service is as simple as making some small changes and training your staff to serve customers of all abilities, such as:
• Accommodating a customer's service dog.
• Writing down the answer to a question for someone who is Deaf.
• Using plain language and speaking in short sentences when helping someone with a developmental disability.
• More than 1.85 million Ontarians have a disability and this number is quickly rising as the population ages.
• By 2017, for the first time, Ontarians aged 65 and over will account for a larger share of the population than children aged 0-14.