Director of roofing company jailed and fined for failure to follow safety rules
May 19, 2017 | By Rehana Begg
Belleville, Ont. – An employer with two previous convictions for safety violations has been sentenced to one day imprisonment and a fine of $10,000 for ignoring safety regulations. No one fell or was injured.
The employer, Steve Bell, was charged with failing as an employer to ensure a worker was adequately protected from falling. By law the worker should have been using a travel restraint system, fall-restricting system, fall arrest system or a safety net.
On October 7, 2015, a Ministry of Labour inspector attended a residence in Belleville and observed a roofer working at a height of more than three metres (about 26 feet) without being protected by fall protection. The worker’s employer, Steve Bell, was later charged with the offence.
Bell had two prior convictions for the same offence. One was a conviction in 2013 with a fine of $2,000 and the other was a conviction in 2015 with a fine of $4,500; no one fell or was injured. These convictions fall under the Construction Projects Regulation (Regulation 213/91) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Justice of the Peace Christopher I. Peltzer passed sentence in Belleville court on May 18, 2017.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour
