A Quebec-based company has been fined $80,000 after a worker was critically injured in an industrial accident at a hydroelectric project in Iron Bridge, Ont.
Andritz Hydro Canada, a supplier of hydro turbines and generators, was sentenced in Provincial Offences Court in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., after pleading guilty to failing to ensure safety procedures were followed. The charge stemmed from a March 16, 2023, incident where a worker was struck by a falling metal sole plate during maintenance work at the Red Rock Falls Generating Station.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigated the accident and found that Andritz Hydro Canada had not adequately braced the sole plate, which caused it to collapse, critically injuring one of the workers. The investigation concluded that the company had violated section 25(1)(c) of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The accident occurred while two millwrights were repositioning metal sole plates on a stator frame as part of the rehabilitation project. When the bolts holding one of the plates were loosened, the plate fell, injuring one of the workers.
Justice of the Peace Kyle Cachagee imposed the $80,000 fine, and a 25 per cent victim surcharge was added, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. Crown counsel Dan Phelan represented the prosecution in the case.
The surcharge funds are directed to a provincial government program supporting victims of crime.
