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OHS Fines Scorecard (September 15 to October 15)

After an unusually slow August when there were only 8 reported OHS fines of $25,000 or more, fine numbers bounced back with 15 such fines reported across Canada. Those totals are more in line with year-long patterns. Thus, through 10 reporting periods, significant fine numbers are averaging 13.6 per 4-week interval in 2025. 

However, things weren’t entirely back to normal. The mid-September to mid-October period average OHS fine amount was only $106,240, the second lowest of the year and well below the year-long average of $162,338, which had stood at $169,293 as of the end of the previous reporting period in mid-September. This drop in average fine amount is attributable to the unusually large number of low fines reported with 7 of 15 totaling $65,000 or less. 

Table 1. OHS Fines in 2025 At A Glance

Period Total Reported Fines Reported 6-Figure Fines Total Fines Value (in millions of dollars)  Average Fine Amount 
To mid-Jan 7 1 $0.684  $97,714 
Mid-Jan to mid-Feb 20 14 $3.689  $184,450 
Mid-Feb to mid-March 9 5 $2.361  $263,300 
Mid-March to mid-April  12 5 $2.029  $169,083 
Mid-April to mid-May  20 6 $2,918 $145,900
Mid-May to mid-June  13 6 $1.565  $120,385 
Mid-June to mid-July  18 13 $4, 081 $226,722
Mid-July to mid-August  14  7  $1,986 $141,864
Mid-Aug to mid-Sept  8 2 $1,170 $146,293
Mid-Sept to mid-Oct  15 6 $1.594  $106,240 
YTD Total  136 65  $22.078  $162,338 

Source: Bongarde

6-Figure OHS Fines  

The flip side to the high volume of low fines was the corresponding drop in big fines. Thus, only 6 of the 15 significant OHS fines reported from mid-September to mid-October 2025 were in the 6-figure range. Combined with last month when only 2 of 8 significant fines totaled $100,000 or more, the recent data run counter to what had been the year-long ratio in which slightly over 50% of all significant OHS fines reported were for 6-figure dollar amounts.   

Moreover, the highest fine reported during the recent period was only $375,000, (against an Ontario propane company for a fatal struck-by incident caused by the inadvertent starting of a boom crane) which is not even close to cracking the Top 10 list for 2025. Six of those Top 10 fines have come from BC, including all of the top 5. The only other province with multiple entries on the Top 10 list is Alberta. Surprisingly, Ontario has accounted for only one Top 10 fine this year. Saskatchewan is also represented on the Top 10 in the seventh slot.  

Table 2. Top 10 OHS Fines of 2025 (through October 15)

Fine Amount Province Type of Company/Incident Result
1 $783,068  BC  Long-term care facility fined for high-risk asbestos violations including failure to implement an exposure control plan.  No fatality or injury. 
1 $783,068  BC  Provincial Government/High-Risk violations for using untrained and unqualified traffic controllers at music festival site.  No fatality or injury. 
1 $783,068  BC  Multiple storage rack violations at 2 Walmart stores.  No fatality or injury. 
4 $710,000  BC  Electrical, lockout, and machine guarding violations at mining company sites.  2 subcontractor workers seriously injured. 
5 $674,445  BC  Cement plant didn’t get professional engineer to certify safety of equipment that had been dismantled and refitted.   Fatality. 
6 $600,000  Ontario  Construction contractor fined for allowing workers to use dangerous and improper crane procedures.  Fatality. 
7 $575,000  Saskatchewan  Machine guarding violation by steel parts manufacturer.  Serious injury to 1 worker. 
8 $500,000  Alberta  Hot work and OHS program violations by prime contractor resulting in welding explosion at energy site.  2 workers killed. 
9 $495,000  Alberta  Crane rigging violation by energy company.  Fatality
10 $489,104  BC   Pulp mill fined for machine guarding violation.  Fatality. 

Source: Bongarde 

Of the half dozen reported 6-figure fines from mid-September to mid-October, 3 came from Ontario, including the biggest fine of the period. Alberta reported 2 fines of over $100,000 and BC one. This is consistent with what’s been going on all year during which Ontario leads the nation in 6-figure fines and Alberta has just a slight lead over BC for second place. Combined, these 3 provinces have accounted for 62 of 65 6-figure OHS fines reported in Canada in 2025. Of course, the operative word is “reported” given that some jurisdictions, including provinces with robust enforcement regimes like Québec don’t publicly report OHS fines. 

Table 3. 6-Figures OHS Fines in 2025 By Jurisdiction (through October 15) 

Jurisdiction Reported 6-Figure Fines in 2025
1 Ontario  23
2 Alberta  17
3 British Columbia 16
4 Saskatchewan  2
5 Nova Scotia 1

Source: Bongarde

Overall OHS Fines 

As with 6-figure fines, Ontario reported the most overall fines during the period with 7. Five of the other 8 came from BC and 3 came from Alberta. Here’s a breakdown of all the significant OHS fines from mid-September to mid-October.   

Table 4. OHS Fines Reported September 15, to October 15, 2025* ($25,000 or more)

Jurisdiction Fine Company What Happened Violation(s)
ON  $375,000  Superior General Partner Inc.  A worker using an articulating boom crane mounted on a flatbed truck to move a 1,000-gallon steel propane tank suffers fatal injuries when the crane unexpectedly moves causing the tank to swing into a brick wall.  Failure to implement effective precautions to prevent the crane from inadvertently starting. 

 
AB  $210,000  North West Crane Enterprises Ltd.  A construction worker gets killed after getting hit by a boom positioned on an improperly certified pipe stand that suddenly collapsed.  Failure to ensure that the crane boom was safely contained, restrained, or protected.  
BC  $140,209  Bird Construction GP Limited   A construction worker removing level bars near the top of a rebar tower falls to the ground when the tower collapses.  Failure, as prime contractor, to ensure that: 

  • All partially assembled structures were supported as necessary to safely withstand any loads likely to be imposed on them. 
  • There were written instructions from a professional engineer regarding the bracing of the tower. 
AB  $132,000  Keller Construction Ltd.  A construction worker suffers serious injury from an arc flash from equipment that had moved too close to an overhead power line.  Failure to ensure that equipment was operated at a safe distance from an overhead power line (a concrete company was fined $86,000 for the same incident—see below). 
ON  $115,000  Highline Produce Limited  A worker seeking to manually adjust nets on a Net Washer sanitizer gets entangled in the net threaded on the machine’s rotating bar and suffers critical injuries.  Failure to implement measures, procedures, guards, or other devices to prevent workers from becoming entangled when adjusting nets on the machine. 
AB  $108,000  George’s Farm Centre Ltd.  A worker unhitches an air seeder tank from a tractor and suffers serious injury while trying to stop the tank after it starts rolling back.  Permitting a worker to remain within range of a moving load or any part of powered mobile equipment that created a danger to the worker. 
BC  $87,148  Regehr Contracting Ltd.   An excavator at a construction site strikes a gas line, resulting in a gas leak that forces the evacuation of a nearby school.   Failure to accurately determine the location of all underground utility services before excavating with powered equipment, a repeat violation. 
AB  $86,000  Alberta Concrete Pumping Ltd.  A construction worker suffers serious injury from an arc flash from equipment that had moved too close to an overhead power line.  Failure to ensure that equipment was operated at a safe distance from an overhead power line (a construction company was fined $132,000 for the same incident—see above). 
ON  $65,000  7143818 Ontario Inc., operating as Regional Fence  Two workers moving fence panels weighing 26.7 kg suffer injury after getting hit by panels that fall from the storage rack.  Failure to ensure that workers were protected from the hazard of a falling stack of fencing. 
ON  $60,000  Advanced Building Innovation Company Inc.  A maintenance worker is injured while performing repairs on an automatic nailing machine that wasn’t locked out.  Failure to ensure that the machine was properly locked out. 
ON   $60,000  Fidelity PAC Metals Ltd.  A warehouse worker taking inventory of steel rods gets hurt when a forklift causes a bundle of rods that wasn’t properly stabilized to tip over.   Failure to ensure that material, articles, or things being stored, placed or transported: 

  • Won’t tip, collapse or fall. 
  • Can be safely removed or withdrawn.  
ON   $55,000  Camp Forming Ltd.  A warehouse worker taking inventory of steel rods gets hurt when a A worker is injured while cleaning the rollers of a Telebelt telescopic boom conveyor while the belt is moving.  causes a bundle of rods that wasn’t properly stabilized to tip over.   Failure to provide safety information, instruction and supervision to a worker. 
BC   $37,717  TwinCon Enterprises Ltd.  An excavator excavating a portion of roadway hits a gas line, resulting in the release of natural gas.   Failure to:  

  • Accurately determine the location of underground utility services before excavating. 
  • Ensure that powered excavating equipment operated in a way to avoid damage to underground utility services and danger to workers. 
BC  $36,089  Viking Reinforcing Ltd.   A construction worker removing level bars near the top of a rebar tower falls to the ground when the tower collapses.  Failure to ensure that: 

  • All partially assembled structures were supported as necessary to safely withstand any loads likely to be imposed on them. 
  • There were written instructions from a professional engineer regarding the bracing of the tower. 
  • All workers were provided necessary safety information, instruction, training, and supervision.  
BC  $26,364  Grant Production Testing Services Ltd.   WorkSafeBC inspectors at a gas fracking site observe flowback work being done without the required remote control operation in place.  Failure to ensure that operations were conducted by remote control, where pressure of a flow piping system may exceed 2,000 kPa. 

* BC OHS fines get reported a month late but are included in the most recent period to ensure continuity and consistency for comparison purposes across all provinces. 

Source: Bongarde