Performance Finishing & Fabrication Inc., a custom metal manufacturing firm based in Vars, Ont., has been fined $110,000 after pleading guilty to a safety violation that led to a worker’s death.
On June 1, 2022, while attempting to position a metal beam for a steel trailer frame, the company’s president was operating a forklift that was carrying the unsecured beam. During the operation, the metal beam, measuring 33 feet 7 inches by 10 inches by 2.5 inches, fell from the forklift, striking a ground worker who was assisting in the process. The worker sustained fatal injuries as a result of the accident.
The company was charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure that the beam was properly secured during transportation, a requirement stipulated by Regulation 851, section 45(b)(i). This oversight was identified as a direct contravention of section 25(1)(c) of the Act.
Justice of the Peace Karen Baum handed down the fine on March 28, 2024, in a provincial offences court in Ottawa, acknowledging the company’s guilty plea. In addition to the fine, the court mandated a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge contributes to a provincial fund designed to support victims of crime.
