Cementation Canada fined $110K after worker injured during fall at Ontario mine

Cementation Canada has been fined $110,000 after a worker was injured during a fall at its site in Matachewan, Ont.

On Jan. 27, 2021, a worker employed by Cementation Canada Inc. was working at the Young Davidson Mine. The employee was working on a raise climber nest, which is a work platform used to blast and drill a large tunnel or opening that is mined upward.

The worker was washing this equipment when they fell through an opening designed to allow the climber to leave the nest. The worker suffered multiple injuries after falling 4.09 metres to the ground.

Although the worker was wearing a full body harness, they were not tied to the fall protection system at the time of the incident. Cementation Canada pleaded guilty to charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

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.