A Chatham contractor has been fined $85,000 in connection with a workplace incident that led to a worker’s fatal injuries.

John Harris Concrete Ltd., which specializes in concrete foundations, pled guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in a Sarnia courtroom.

The incident occurred on October 26, 2022 at a worksite near 354 Gould Road, in the Township of Dawn-Euphemia.

One of the company’s five workers was clearing brush and felling trees from the area around a drainage ditch when they were fatally injured by a tree.

A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that while the worker had been trained to operate a chainsaw safely, they were not trained on tree felling.

John Harris Concrete Ltd. was found to have failed, as an employer, to provide training on how to safety fell trees to the worker, as required by section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.