TTC subcontractor fined $50,000 after 2011 incident that left worker dead

Advanced Construction Techniques Ltd. pleaded guilty in August to failing to adhere to safety measures.

TheStar.com
Sept. 27, 2016
By Sophie Van Bastelaer

TTC subcontractor Advanced Construction Techniques Ltd. is facing a $50,000 fine for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act that left one of its workers dead and another injured in 2011.

Whitchurch-Stouffville’s Kyle Knox, a 23-year-old backhoe operator subcontracted under Anchor Shoring and Caissons Ltd., died in October 2011 on a TTC subway construction site in North York.

Knox’s death occurred as a result of the tipping of a drill rig which, after investigation, was determined to have been operating under unsafe parameters.

The decision to fine Advanced Construction Techniques Ltd. came after sentencing in Old City Hall Court by Judge Brent Knazan on Monday.

In August of this year the company was found guilty by the court of failing to design an adequate work platform for the drill rig. ACT did not identify the soil-bearing capacity as required by the manufacturer’s specifications for stability.

In addition to the $50,000 fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act, which is credit to a special provincial government fund allocated to assisting victims of crime.

OHL-FCC GP Canada, a company associated with constructing the new subway in 2011, pleaded guilty in 2014 to failing to adhere to safety measures. The company paid a $400,000 fine.