Contractor and Director Fined $44,000 Total for Safety Violation
Ministry of Labour
Kitchener, ON. - Network Site Services Ltd., a construction contractor from Cambridge, was fined $38,000 on November 19, 2010, for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Donald Medeiros a director with the company, was fined $6,000 in relation to the same incident.
On September 30, 2009, the company was constructing a new sewer and water main in New Hamburg. Workers were using an excavator to load a dump truck with materials. The truck was parked at Waterloo St. and Hostetler Rd., beneath a set of energized overhead conductors. The worker driving the excavator swung its boom towards the dump truck. In doing so, the boom came within three meters of the overhead conductors. This created an arc of electrical contact with the overhead power lines. The excavator driver heard a cracking sound and swung the boom away from the power lines. No one was hurt.
Network Site Services Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing, as a constructor, to ensure that the excavator's boom was kept farther than three meters away from the overhead conductor. Donald Medeiros pleaded guilty to failing, as a director, to ensure the same.
The fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace Robert Gay. In addition to the fines, 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.
Court Information at a Glance
Location: Ontario Court of Justice
77 Queen St. N.
Kitchener, ON
Judge: Justice of the Peace Robert Gay
Date of Conviction: November 19, 2010
Defendants: Network Site Services Ltd.
Donald Medeiros
Matter: Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction: Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 188(2)
Crown Counsel: Evan Schiller