CHATHAM, ONT. — A Chatham-based company, John Harris Concrete Ltd., has been fined $85,000 following the death of a worker involved in tree removal near 354 Gould Road in the Township of Dawn-Euphemia.
The sentencing took place on Jan. 13, with Justice of the Peace Susan Whelan delivering the conviction in Provincial Offences Court in Sarnia.
The fatal incident occurred on Oct. 26, 2022, when one of the company’s five workers was clearing brush and cutting down trees near a drainage ditch. During the process, the worker was struck and fatally injured by a falling tree.
A subsequent investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that while the worker had received training in safe chainsaw use, they had not been trained in proper tree felling techniques.
As a result, John Harris Concrete Ltd. was found in violation of section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure the worker received adequate training for safely felling trees.