MISSISSAUGA, ONT. — Residential construction company Cachet Homes Corp. of Mississauga, Ont. has been fined a total of $50,000 in relation to a March 2023 incident where a worker was injured in a fall.
According to an Ontario court bulletin, on March 3, 2023, Cachet Homes Corp. was building a new subdivision with 205 detached and freehold townhomes in the area of 20 Steadman St. in Cambridge, formerly Camwest Lot 117. They hired a subcontractor to install insulation in various homes.
On the morning of the incident, the subcontractor assigned one of its workers to insulate a wood-framed home on Camwest Lot 117. To reach above the foyer, the worker began setting up a temporary platform. While doing so, the worker leaned on a wooden guardrail system that had been installed earlier, possibly by another subcontractor.
It gave way and the worker fell nearly 10 feet to the floor below, suffering critical injuries.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found the wooden guardrail system, installed during the framing of the house was not securely fastened to the posts.
As a result, Cachet Homes Corp. failed to ensure safety systems, such as guardrails, were properly installed, inspected and maintained as required by section 26.3(7) of Ontario Regulation 213/91, contrary section 23(1)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Kitchener on May 30, the company was fined by Justice of the Peace Michael Cuthbertson.
