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2026 OHS Fines Scorecard (January 1 to February 15)

Occupational Health and Safety agencies and courts across Canada have reported 12 significant OHS fines, that is, fines of $25,000 or more, in 2026 so far. That's significantly down from the 27 total significant fines reported during the first six weeks of 2025. One reason for the discrepancy is that just two provinces accounted for all of the fines in this year's January to mid-February reporting period—British Columbia and Ontario.    

Fine amounts were also somewhat low on a cumulative basis. At $1.540 million, this period's OHS fine total would have been the fourth lowest of 2025. The average fine amount of $128,333 would have fallen somewhere in the middle for a single period and well below the $160,952 average for the entire 2025 year (in which there were 175 reported OHS fines totaling $28.166 million). 

Table 1. OHS Fines in 2026 At A Glance (through Feb. 15)  

Period  Total Reported Fines  Reported 6-Figure Fines   Total Fines Value (in millions of dollars)  Average Fine Amount 
Jan to mid-Feb  12 7 $1.540  $128,333 
YTD Total  12 7 $1.540  $128,333 

Source: Bongarde 

Six-Figure OHS Fines  

More than half of the 12 significant OHS fines reported during the most recent period totaled $100,000 or more. That's a bit above recent long-term trends with roughly 40% to 45% of reported fines being in the six-figure range.  

At the top level, Canada's reported OHS fines have been following a basic pattern with BC reporting most of the biggest fines. In 2025, BC accounted for eight of the country's 10 highest fines. The province is picking up where it left off, already staking claim to the top OHS fine of 2026—an administrative monetary penalty of $521,694 against a Penticton retailer for repeat, high-risk storage rack violations. 

 The other trend is that Ontario consistently reports the most six-figure OHS fines. Sure enough, of the seven fines of $100,000 or more in this year's first reporting period, six came from Ontario. Although it's too early for a Top 10, here's the list of the highest OHS fines for the new year. 

 

Table 2. Top OHS Fines of 2026  

Fine Amount  Province  Type of Company/Incident  Result 
1 $521,694  British Columbia   Retailer fined for storage rack violations.  No fatality or injury. 
2 $140,000  Ontario  Construction contractor fined for excavations violation.  Critical injury to one worker. 
2 $140,000  Ontario  Construction contractor fined for collapse of basement wall.  Critical injury to one worker. 
4 $135,000  Ontario  Mining company fined for electrical cable removal mishap.  Serious injury to one worker. 
5 $130,000  Ontario  Chemical plant fined for failing to provide safety training for hazardous operation.  Serious injury to one worker. 

Source: Bongarde 

Somewhat surprisingly, Alberta, which has been a regular source of six-figure fines, hasn’t reported any significant fines so far this year. We don’t expect that to continue. 

Table 3. 6-Figures OHS Fines in 2026 By Jurisdiction   

Jurisdiction  Reported 6-Figure OHS Fines in 2026 
Ontario  6
British Columbia  1

Source: Bongarde 

Overall OHS Fines 

Here’s a rundown of all significant OHS fines reported in the first six weeks of 2026.  

Caveat: Keep in mind that not all provinces publicly report their OHS fines the way Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba do. Accordingly, these totals don’t account for all jurisdictions, some of which we know have vigorous enforcement regimes like Québec or the federal government, where the only source of fine data is reported court cases.    

Table 4. OHS Fines Reported January 1 to February 15, 2026 ($25,000 or more) 

Jurisdiction Fine Company What Happened Violation(s) (all defendants found liable as an employer, unless otherwise indicated) 
BC $521,694  Andrew Sheret Limited  WorkSafeBC inspectors observe dangerous non-compliant and damaged storage racks in use at a retail and warehouse worksite. 

Failure to ensure storage racks were: 

  • Used in accordance with the specifications of the manufacturer or a professional engineer, a repeat violation. 
  • Installed by a qualified person according to the manufacturer’s or an engineer’s instructions. 
ON  $140,000  Fer-Pal Construction Ltd.  A worker exposed to hot water while removing a hose from a pipe connection located in an access pit tries to climb out but falls back in before managing to escape in a second attempt.  Failure to ensure that adequate means of egress was provided for evacuating workers during an emergency (Supervisor also fined $7,000 for same offence). 
ON   $140,000  E.H.E. Construction Group Inc.  A worker is critically injured when a section of a concrete basement wall collapses at a single-family residential construction project.  Failure as prime contractor and employer to ensure that every part of a project, including a temporary structure, was adequately braced to prevent movement that may affect its stability or cause it to fail or collapse. 
ON  $135,000  DMC Mining Services Ltd.  While working on a suspended platform, a worker is injured while removing an extra power cable from the wall of a mine shaft.  Failure to ensure that workers removed the cable in a way that reduced risk—starting from the bottom to the top and without standing inside the coiled cable. 
ON $130,000  NOVA Chemicals Corporation  A petrochemical plant maintenance contractor’s worker suffers serious injuries after hot liquid is discharged from an exhaust stack during intermittent blowdown (IBD) drum cleaning work.  Failure to provide information, instruction, and supervision to protect workers from hazards associated with IBD operations. 
ON   $120,000  Glencore Canada Corporation  A mining worker falls from the deck of a MacLean Scissor Truck that wasn’t adequately secured to the rear railing and suffers critical injuries; the crew also failed to remove muck from the access area over which the truck operated.  Failure to ensure that muck was cleared before work began underground. 
ON  $100,000  Orbit Garant Drilling Services Inc.  An assistant driller at an underground mine is injured while trying to free a water hose that was caught on a drill rod.  Failure to ensure that a machine with an exposed moving part is fenced or guarded. 
BC  $63,766  Industra Construction Corp. A construction worker using a gas-powered saw to remove a pipe in an excavation classified as a confined space is exposed to hazardous levels of carbon monoxide and passes out.   Failure to: 

  • Ensure confined space hazards were eliminated or minimized.  
  • Provide workers with necessary health and safety information, instruction, training, and supervision. 
ON  $60,000  Genaire Limited  A plant worker who normally does production work is assigned painting duties and gets injured while attempting to reopen a container of hazardous paint that had been improperly stored.  Failure to ensure that a worker is instructed in the procedures for the safe use, storage, handling, and disposal of a hazardous product. 
ON  $50,000  Sega Group Inc.  A construction worker is injured when a concrete streetlight post topples during hoisting.  Failure to ensure that no worker operates a crane or similar hoisting device unless they’re trained in its safe operation. 
ON  $50,000  Stobag North America Corporation  A manufacturing plant worker falls from an elevated work platform that was struck by a moving toolbar and suffers critical injuries.  Failure to ensure that control measures or methods were in place to prevent material in motion from striking the elevated lift.  
BC  $29,454  C. Chandler Contracting Celtic Construction Ltd.  WorkSafeBC inspectors issue a stop-use order after observing OHS violations in temporary stairs used to access a residential construction site.  Failure, as prime contractor, to ensure:  

  • A safe way of entering and leaving the workplace. 
  • First aid procedures were communicated to workers.