OHS Fines Scorecard for 2024 (May 15 to June 15)
OHS agencies across Canada reported 12 OHS fines of over $30,000 from mid-May to mid-June, the same number as in the previous 4-week period. The big difference is that only 5 of those reported fines were above $100,000 as compared to 9 from mid-April to mid-May. Result: Of the 56 fines reported during the entire year to date, 26 or fewer than 50% have been in the 6-figure range.
Table 1. OHS Fines in 2024 At A Glance (through June 15)
| Period | Total Reported Fines | Reported 6-Figure Fines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan to mid-Feb | 11 | 6 |
| Mid-Feb to mid-March | 11 | 4 |
| Mid-March to mid-April | 10 | 2 |
| Mid-April to mid-May | 12 | 9 |
| Mid-May to mid-June | 12 |
5 |
| Total | 56 | 26 |
Source: Bongarde
OHS Fines of $100,000 or More
Alberta reported the highest OHS fine of the period, $350,000, for a fatality to a worker who was struck by a section of a pipe that broke free while being transported. Saskatchewan reported its highest fine of 2024 so far, a $325,000 penalty against an employer stemming from the death of a worker who fell through the opening of a skylight. Nearly halfway into the year, the $710,000 administrative monetary penalty imposed by B.C. for a shipyard worker’s confined space death remains the biggest nationwide.
Table 2. Top 5 OHS Fines of 2024 At A Glance (through June 15)
| Fine Amount | Province | Type of Company/Incident | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $710,488 | BC | Shipyard/Confined space asphyxiation |
| 2 | $600,000 | Ontario | Truck manufacturer/Explosion during handling of flammables resulting in 6 fatalities |
| 3 | $390,000 | Alberta | Oil & gas/Excavation fatality |
| 4 | $360,000 | Alberta | Heavy equipment/Crane fatality |
| 5 | $350,000 | Alberta | Oil & gas/Pressurized materials fatality |
| 5 | $350,000 | Alberta | Corrosion prevention/Struck by fatality |
Source: Bongarde
Ontario continues to lead the country in 6-figure OHS fines dished out with 11, followed closely by Alberta with 9. Together, the 2 provinces have accounted for 5 of the 6 biggest OHS fines of the year. BC handed out the most 6-figure fines during the recent period with 2, bringing its total for the year to 3. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are the only other provinces that have reported 6-figure OHS fines in 2024 with 2 and 1, respectively. Oil and gas companies in Alberta have been on the receiving end of 2 of the top 5 OHS fines.
Overall OHS Fines
Of the 12 significant OHS fines reported from mid-May to mid-June, 7 came from Ontario, including a case in which a company and its corporate director were fined separately for a fatal fall protection violation. BC and Saskatchewan accounted for 2 fines apiece. As noted above, Alberta reported the biggest fine of the period.
Table 3. OHS Fines Reported from May 15 to June 15, 2024* (over $30,000)
| Jurisdiction | Fine | Company | What Happened | Violation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $350,000 | Sonic Coating Solutions Inc. | Worker is killed after getting hit by a section of pipe being transferred from an abrasive blasting building. | Failure to ensure the safety of workers standing in proximity to or under a suspended load. |
| Saskatchewan | $325,000 | Spiritwood Stockyards (1984) Ltd. | Worker is killed after falling through a fiberglass skylight while attempting to clear snow from a roof. | Failure to provide required fall protection and PPE. |
| Ontario | $200,000 | Buckhorn Sand & Gravel Inc. | Fuel truck stuck on rock in a quarry unexpectedly lurches forward, killing one of the workers trying to free it and seriously injuring another. | Failure to implement measures required by OHS mining regulations. |
| British Columbia | $198,891 | Axiom Builders Inc. | WorkSafeBC inspectors spot multiple violations in line painting operations at underground parkade of 43-storey residential construction site. | Failure as prime contractor to implement exposure control plan, proper ventilation, or respiratory protective equipment. |
| British Columbia | $127,673 | Complete Utility Contractors Ltd. | Excavator hits an underground gas line at a construction site, forcing the closure of a main road and the evacuation of a nearby workplace. | Failure to review the BC 1 Call Package available on site or hand-expose the gas line before excavating. |
| Ontario | $82,000 | VanHeughten Contractors Inc. | Worker not using fall protection standing on a 2 x 4-inch wood strapping while using a cordless framing nailer falls 5.08 metres and dies when strapping breaks. | Failure to ensure that roofing crew used required fall protection (company director also fined $32.5K for same violation—see below). |
| Saskatchewan | $80,000 | Aallcann Wood Suppliers Inc. | Worker gets caught in the chain drive of a conveyor and suffers serious injuries. | Failure to guard a dangerous moving part of a machine. |
| Ontario | $80,000 | Amico Contractors Inc. | Two construction workers setting precast stairs in stair shafts fall off elevated platform after it collapses and suffer serious injuries. | Failure to ensure that the platform was constructed and installed to support the load of both workers. |
| Ontario | $60,000 | 1958040 Ontario Inc., operating as Oakville Toyota | Apprentice with long hair tied in a ponytail suffers serious injuries when the hair gets ensnared into the rotating shaft of a truck being serviced. | Failure to develop a safe procedure for diagnosing problems with wheel bearings. |
| Ontario | $60,000 | Revital Polymers Inc. | Mechanic replacing a faulty hydraulic hose on a forklift gets killed when the forklift’s mast falls catching the mechanic between the mast and the cab. | Failure to ensure that the forklift was not left unattended. |
| Ontario | $50,000 | Richvale York Block Inc. | Worker shrink-wrapping manufactured concrete blocks falls off a platform approximately 29 inches above the work floor and suffers serious injury. | Failure to ensure that there was a guardrail at the open side of a raised platform on which a worker stood. |
| Ontario | $32,500 | Kyle VanHeughten | Worker not using fall protection standing on a 2 x 4-inch wood strapping while using a cordless framing nailer falls 5.08 metres and dies when strapping breaks. | Failure as a corporate director to ensure that roofing crew used required fall protection (company also fined $82K as employer for same violation—see above). |
* BC OHS fines get reported a month later but are included in the most recent period to ensure continuity and consistency for comparison purposes across all provinces.
Source: Bongarde