TORONTO — A young construction worker is dead after falling from the 28th floor of a building in downtown Toronto.
The Ministry of Labour (MOL) was contacted around 3:15 p.m. on June 23 about a fatality at a condominium and townhouse project located at 65 St. Mary St. The project’s constructor is SMC Bay Inc.
“The worker was installing balcony railings on the 28th floor and fell, landing on the rooftop of a townhome that was part of the project. (The worker was) pronounced dead on the scene,” said MOL spokesperson Bruce Skeaff.
The deceased has been confirmed as a young worker, under 25 years of age.
The MOL issued a requirement to SMC Bay Inc. to secure the scenes on both the 28th floor and the townhome rooftop for the purposes of their investigation, which is ongoing.
The Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario called the death another “needless tragic death”. This is the second fatal fall at a construction site in Toronto in the past year.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that five years after the Kipling Avenue swing-stage deaths of four workers we are still seeing falls that are costing workers their lives,” said Provincial Building Trades business manager Patrick Dillon in a statement.
“We have had a provincial review, the establishment of a Chief Prevention Officer and supposedly more enforcement, yet deaths continue to take place.”
In a statement, Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis said it is “totally unacceptable” that these kinds of tragedies continue to persist.
“Falls from heights continue to be a leading cause of injuries and fatalities of workers in all sectors — particularly in the construction sector,” he said in the statement.
“Terrible tragedies like this underline the need for all of us to increase our vigilance in preventing these kinds of incidents from happening.”
The Chief Prevention Office announced late last year the Working at Heights Training Program Standard to prevent falls and improve safety for those who work at heights.
Dillon said it is time to take stronger action to show the impact that workplace deaths have on the family and the community.
“I believe that all managers, executives and owners of companies where a workplace death takes place should be compelled to attend (subject to the family’s wishes) the funeral of workers who die on the job. The Minister of Labour, Chief Prevention Officer, chair of WSIB and all those who are responsible for workplace safety should also be required to attend,” he said.
According to Dillon, “until we change attitudes about workers’ safety, these tragic events will continue to rip apart families, cause trauma in the workplace and create a climate of fear for workers. Government and industry must take this issue head-on if we want to avoid more funerals.”
The goal should be zero workplace fatalities right now, says Dillon.
He says the solution is “stronger construction regulations beefed up with better and more stringent enforcement. In addition, we need more inspectors from the trades that have real-world construction experience so they know what to look for on a site.”
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