Aecon Utilities Inc. has been fined $175,000 in connection with a 2024 incident that led to a workplace fatality.

The company pled guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in provincial court. In addition to the fine, it will pay a 25-percent victim fine surcharge that is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The incident occurred on July 30, 2024 at a worksite in King City.

Aecon Utilities Inc. was installing a new underground utility service at a residential property. Excavation work was conducted to expose an existing pipeline, and a trench shoring box system had been installed to support the walls of the excavation.

While the worker was inside the trench connecting the new utility service to the pipeline, weather conditions deteriorated and heavy rainfall began. Rainwater mixed with silt and soil entered the trench, forming a slurry that accumulated rapidly. The worker became trapped in the slurry and was fatally injured by the rapidly rising water.

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigated the incident, including the engineering aspects of the trench, pumping capacity and site conditions. The investigation concluded that the amount of rainfall and sediment entering the excavation made it impossible to safely dewater the trench. Continuing to use equipment in those conditions endangered the worker.

As a result, Aecon Utilities Inc. was found to have failed to ensure that equipment was not used when weather conditions made its use likely to endanger a worker.

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