Leduc interchange

Conviction in worker deaths not enough: council

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Following the sentencing of a construction site supervisor in connection with the 2009 suspended swing stage collapse that killed four workers and seriously injured another, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario issued a press release Monday asserting that the conviction sends only a partial message of deterrence.

“While it was the construction supervisor’s responsibility to ensure the workers had proper safety training and equipment, no one from the company was held criminally liable for these deaths,” said Patrick Dillon, business manager of the council. “The Crown should have pursued charges against the owners, directors and executives to send a clear message that those responsible in the death of a worker should be held accountable and not be able to walk away with a fine.”

Metron Construction Inc. was fined $750,000 and company owner Joel Swartz was fined $112,500. Construction site supervisor Vadim Kazenelson was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail after he was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death. (According to a CBC report, Kazenelson is appealing his conviction and the Crown in July 2012 dropped initial charges against Swartz, saying it couldn’t secure a conviction.)

“The objective of the Building Trades is not to see owners and/or supervisors go to jail, but rather, for the workplace carnage to stop — if executives going to jail is what it takes to end workplace deaths, then so be it,” added Dillon. “Employers can’t be insulated from their responsibility of ensuring a safe workplace, and responsibility starts with the person doing the hiring of the supervisor.”

The council’s business manager underscored the importance of employers ensuring that employees have proper training and equipment before entering a construction site. He also asserted that the province continues to see preventable injuries and deaths, even as the Ministry of Labour reports improvements in worker safety.

“We need to change the way people think about safety and if training is not enough, then we need to change the laws and how they are enforced, so that owners and managers are also held accountable,” said Dillon.

On Dec. 24, 2009, Aleksey Blumberg, 32, Alexander Bondorev, 25, Fayzullo Fazilov, 31, and Vladimir Korostin, 40, died after their suspended swing stage collapsed and they fell 13 storeys. Dilshod Marupov survived serious injuries including a fractured spine and ribs.

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