BRAMPTON, ON, Dec. 14 - - A Brampton pet supply company was fined
$70,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice, December 11, 2007, following the
injury of a worker in a forklift accident.
Justice of the Peace G. Manno heard that the company, 3499481 Canada
Inc., operating as Super Pet, has a pet store at 547 Steeles Ave., E.,
Brampton where the employee was working on March 8, 2006. The employee and a
co-worker were moving supplies from store shelves onto a skid that was
elevated on a forklift when the incident occurred. Court was told that the
worker was standing atop a platform ladder, having loaded four bags onto the
skid and asked the co-worker to lower the forks and the skid. As the forks
came down, they came in contact with the top guardrail of the platform ladder,
tipping it and causing it to fall. The worker on the platform fell with it and
suffered leg and arm injuries.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that neither worker was trained
in the use of the electrically powered forklift, neither were they being
instructed and accompanied by a competent person. The store had a policy that
the forklift was to be operated only by a certified operator.
The employer breached section 51(2)(a) of Ontario Regulation 851 and
section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act when it failed to
ensure that the lifting device was operated only by a competent person, or a
worker being instructed who was accompanied by a competent person.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine
surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The
surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist
victims of crime.
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Court Information at a Glance
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Location: Ontario Court of Justice,
5 Ray Lawson Blvd., Brampton, Ontario
Judge: Justice of the Peace G. Manno
Date: December 11, 2007
Defendants: 3499481 Canada Inc o/a Super Pet
Matter: Occupational Health & Safety
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