Ontario Construction News staff writer
A Kitchener-area construction company that installed metal roof systems on a Waterloo Street home in London, Ont., has been fined $110,000 for the 2022 death of a worker while installing sheathing on a second-storey roof.
Matpol Metal Roof Manufacturing Ltd., which carries on the trade name Canadian Metal Roof Manufacturing Ltd., was ordered to pay the penalty by Justice of the Peace Emma Sims on Friday after pleading guilty to a provincial offences court charge related to the April 6, 2022, incident.
The company was fined $110,000 for failing to ensure that a worker who was subcontracted to do the work on the single-family home wore fall protection equipment when they fell from the roof and died.
Matpol Metal Roof Manufacturing pleaded guilty to charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations that require companies to take steps to prevent accidents and injuries in the workplace.
The company was also ordered to pay a 25% victim fine surcharge, which is credited to a special provincial government fund that assists victims of crime.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that a worker with the subcontracted company was not wearing fall-protection equipment when they fell from the roof on April 6, 2022, and died.
The investigation found that while fall protection equipment was available at the time of the incident, the worker was not wearing it, which is a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.