In December 2009, Metron Construction Corporation (Metron) was
repairing exterior balconies on the 14th floor of a
high-rise apartment building in Toronto. On Christmas Eve of that
year, an overloaded swing stage, a form of suspended platform,
carrying six workers including Vadim Kazenelson, the project
manager, and the project foreman, collapsed, resulting in the death
of four workers and severely injuring a fifth. There had only been
two lifelines on the swing stage at the time.
Metron, the swing stage manufacturer, and their respective
corporate directors were each subject to various convictions and
fines under the Criminal Code (Code) and the Ontario
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). On January 11,
2016, Mr. Kazenelson was sentenced to 3½ years in prison
after having been found guilty of four counts of criminal
negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence
causing bodily harm as a result of the swing stage collapse. Mr.
Kazenelson became
