Criminal Consequence Of Safety Violations

In R. v. Metron Construction Corp., the Ontario Court of Appeal dramatically increased a fine imposed on the defendant Metron following its guilty plea to a charge of criminal negligence causing death, from $200,000 to $750,000.

Metron had entered into an agreement to restore concrete balconies on two highrise buildings. To perform this work, it acquired "swing stages". Each swing stage was 40 feet long and consisted of four 10 foot long modules held together by plates and bolts. One of the swing stages collapsed at the end of the working day with five workers and a site supervisor on board, causing four of the men to fall to their deaths. The swing stage in question had only two life lines, though one was required for each worker under Occupational Health and Safety legislation. The swing stage did not have any marking, serial numbers, identifiers or labels describing its maximum capacity, as required by legislation and industry practice.