Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Greater Sudbury has been fined $150,000 in provincial court in relation to a 2022 workplace fatality at a public works depot in Levack.
According to court documents, a worker was advised by a supervisor to get a ride back to the Levack public works depot after an appreciation breakfast May 6, 2022.
When he arrived at the depot, the worker informed a co-worker he was going to remove the sand from the Wille municipal tractor unit that was equipped with a rear-mounted sand spreader attachment and a spinning auger to distribute sand.
The worker became entangled in the machinery at the unguarded opening of the sand hopper that was attached to the Wille tractor, while the auger inside the sand hopper was powered on, the court ruling states.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development found the city failed to ensure that machinery with an exposed moving part was guarded by a guard or device to prevent access to the moving part, as prescribed by Ontario Regulation 851, and contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The city is also required to pay a 25 percent victim fine surcharge, the money from which is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.