TORONTO — Dong Mo, the director of a Toronto-based roofing company, was sentenced to 20 days in jail for failing to take all reasonable care to ensure his company, Sunny Roofing, complied with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), its regulations and the orders and requirements of a Ministry of Labour (MOL) inspector.
The company was also fined $56,000 for six different contraventions of the OHSA as required by Ontario Regulation 213/91, the Construction Projects Regulation, including workers on a job site observed not wearing fall protection such as harnesses or hard hats.
An MOL health and safety inspector attended a residence in North York on Sept. 25 in response to a complaint about unsafe roofing activity.
The inspector noted contraventions and issued orders for the company to comply with safety regulations, stated a release issued by the MOL.
Despite multiple attempts to contact the company and its director to ensure continuing compliance with the OHSA and the orders issued under its authority, the company and its director ignored the MOL inspector, which had the effect of obstructing the performance of an inspector under the OHSA, which itself constitutes a contravention of the law, adds the release.
The company and its director were previously convicted of violating the OHSA in Burlington in March 2017 and in Brampton in September 2015.
The violations were similar to the current convictions: failure to ensure workers used protective apparel/fall protection, and obstructing an inspector in the performance of duties.
As in previous incidents, workers fled when they saw the inspector approaching and attempts to contact the company and its director were ignored, the release indicates.
The sentence was handed down Nov. 22 in Toronto’s Old City Hall court by Justice of the Peace Mark Conacher. The trial was held ex parte (neither defendants attended court).
The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
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