ST. CATHARINES, ON, Jan. 7 /CNW/ - Dana Canada Corporation, a manufacturer of vehicle parts, was found guilty after trial and fined $80,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice on January 6, 2009, after a worker was injured.

Justice D. A. Harris heard that on February 12, 2006, an industrial mechanic at the Dana Frame Plant, 100 Haynes Rd., Thorold, was repairing a shear, used to cut sheets of metal. After maintenance work on the machine, workers turned it back on and removed the steel blocks that prevented the beam holding the top blade of the shear from moving. The mechanic was in a pit under the machine, calibrating the clearance between the blades, when a ram
attached to the beam broke. The beam fell about 15 centimetres and hit the mechanic on the head.

Dana Canada Corporation was fined $80,000 for failing, as an employer, to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 75(b) of Ontario Regulation 851 were carried out, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

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.

STRATFORD, ON, Dec. 19 /CNW/ - Two Port Colbourne-based companies - Hard Rock Paving Company Limited and Hard Rock Construction Inc. - were convicted after trial and fined a total of $180,000 as a result of injuries suffered by two workers.

On December 10, 2008, Justice of the Peace S. M. Woodworth heard that on September 19, 2005, in Perth County, two workers were attempting to remove asphalt in a cement tank by using a propane fuel torch to heat the asphalt. The workers suffered third-degree burns when the cement tank exploded. Hard Rock Paving Company Limited was fined $60,000 for failing as an employer to ensure that asphalt cement was not exposed to an ignition source contrary to section 25 (2) (h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and was also fined $60,000 for failing as an employer to provide adequate information, instruction and supervision to workers contrary to section 25 (2) (a) of the OHSA.

Hard Rock Construction Inc. was also fined $60,000 for failing as a constructor to protect the health and safety of workers by ensuring that asphalt cement was not exposed to an ignition source. This was a violation of section 23 (1) (c) of the OHSA.

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.

BRAMPTON, ON, Dec. 10 /CNW/ - Petro-Canada was found guilty after trial and fined $150,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice on December 10, 2008, after a worker was injured.

During the trial between January 7 and January 11, 2008, Justice Nancy S. Kastner heard that on September 8, 2005, at Petro-Canada's lubrication refinery at 385 Southdown Rd., Mississauga, two employees were working near the overflow valve on a lime softener tank. When the locking pin was removed from the valve, the steam and water that escaped burnt one of the workers severely.

Petro-Canada was fined $150,000 on December 10, 2008, for failing, as an employer, to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational
Health and Safety Act.

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.