Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

Minister David Piccini

14th Floor 400 University Ave Toronto, ON M7A 1T7 September 23, 2024

Dear Minister Piccini,

Last week, we were saddened to hear of the tragic death of a worker at Ontario Place. We know that this tragedy is not an isolated incident. Earlier this year we lost Brian Postill, a deeply committed and highly-skilled Pipeline Distribution worker who died in a workplace incident. One life lost is one too many and yet workplace death and injury is an all too common occurrence in Ontario.

According to your ministry’s data, there were 47 cases of workplace fatalities and 2918 cases of worker critical injuries last year alone. That’s 47 dead and 2918 critically injured Ontarians. They are our family members, our friends, our neighbours and colleagues. Workplace safety, or lack thereof, impacts all of our communities.

Our position on this has always been clear – kill a worker, go to jail. If the employer is found responsible for the death of a worker, they should face the consequences of committing murder. In 2004 the Federal Government amended the Criminal Code to make it easier to hold corporate executives and corporations criminally liable for serious workplace injuries and fatalities. These amendments, called the Westray Law after the 1992 explosion at the Westray Mine in Nova Scotia, are being woefully underutilized. When the Westray law is applied properly, corporations realize they need to give up a little of their profits to look after workers’ lives. We cannot rely on corporations and employers to keep workers safe. We must demand by law that they do and enforce the law when they don’t.

We also want to call your attention to the abysmal treatment of injured workers in this province. After experiencing a workplace injury, Ontarians are often left to live in poverty, largely dependent on the charity of loved ones to get by. The central purpose of our workers compensation system has changed. What was once a system about the rights of workers is now a system about insurance for employers. This has allowed employers to pay as little as possible to their injured workers. This needs to change.

Below is a list of urgent recommendations that fall under the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s jurisdiction. We recognize that implementation will come at a cost, but the cost on the government and employers to keep workers safe is more than worth the cost of a life.

We, as a united labour movement, call on you to take the following actions:

• Reinstate mandatory Coroner’s Inquests for workplace fatalities at construction sites.
• Adopt the recommendations of the United Steelworkers’ Stop The Killing, Enforce The Law Campaign:
  • Educate, train and direct Crown attorneys to apply the Westray amendments of the Criminal Code of Canada;
  • Assign dedicated prosecutors the responsibility for health and safety fatalities;
  • Educate, train and direct Police to apply the Westray amendments;
  • Facilitate greater coordination between regulators, police and Crown attorneys so that health and safety regulators are trained to reach out to police when there is a possibility that Westray amendments charges are warranted;
• Adopt the jury’s recommendations from the February 2024 Coroner’s Inquest into the deaths of William Dean Maguire, William Bruin, Norman Gerrard which, in brief, are:
  • Amend Ontario Regulation 213/91: Construction Projects to require an employer ensure that a site and task-specific fall protection work plan be developed in writing prior to a worker working at heights;
  • Amend the Working at Heights Training Program Standard to require real-life stories of workers who have experienced workplace tragedies, the circumstances surrounding their deaths, the safety lessons to be learned and the impact on their loved ones and coworkers, information on the issues and challenges relating to workplace culture on construction projects. The standard should also inform trainees of the employer’s requirement to ensure that a site and task-specific fall protection work plan be developed prior to a worker working at heights;
  • Develop a campaign to communicate the new regulatory requirement for a site and task-specific fall protection work plan;
  • Provide additional funding to the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association to support the development of new and enhanced educational campaigns, information, resources, training and advisories;
• Adopt other Coroner’s Inquest recommendations including that all site supervisors are competent and aware of their duties and responsibilities.
• Make public the job site safety compliance requirements levied against employers who are in violation of health & safety standards.
• Implement the Injured Workers’ Bill of Rights, created by injured workers and endorsed by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG), the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Yours Truly,

Andria Babbington

President

Toronto & York Region Labour Council

CC: Premier Doug Ford

Toronto & York Region Labour Council Executive Board

Ontario Network of Injured Workers Group

Injured Workers Legal Clinic

Ontario Federation of Labour

Canadian Labour Congress

Central Ontario Building Trades Council

MPP Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition, Ontario NDP Leader

Bonnie Crombie, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party

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