On January 11, 2016 an Ontario court imposed the harshest
sentence ever for an individual's role in a workplace accident.
A project manager was sentenced to three and a half years in prison
for his role in four workplace deaths that occurred on December 24,
2009. On that date, six employees were repairing balconies on the
13th floor of an apartment building when the swing stage
they were working on collapsed. The four employees who died were
not wearing safety harnesses. The Ontario Superior Court, in
R v Vadim Kazenelson, 2015 ONSC 3639,
found the project manager guilty of four counts of criminal
negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence
causing bodily harm. Following this decision, the project manager
was sentenced to three and a half years in jail, a result which is
being appealed. In coming to this sentence, the judge relied on the
following facts regarding the project manager's role in the
accident:
