A residential builder has been fined $140,000 in connection with an incident that led to a workplace injury in 2023.

E.H.E. Construction Group Inc., which operates out of King, Ontario, north of Toronto, was convicted of a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in a Newmarket courtroom in November. The court also imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge on the company, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The incident occurred on January 20, 2023 at a worksite on Simcoe Road in King. The company was working on an addition to a single-family home, including adding to the basement.

Workers cut the existing concrete basement wall to make space for the addition. The workers intended to remove the cut sections of the wall later and left them in place without bracing.

On the day of the incident, a section of the concrete wall collapsed, critically injuring a worker.

E.H.E. Construction Group was found to have failed to ensure that every part of a project, including a temporary structure, was adequately braced to prevent any movement that may affect its stability or cause its failure or collapse.