Somerset House trial set for October

Thirteen charges laid by the Ontario Ministry of Labour against the owners of Somerset House on Bank Street will go to trial this fall.

Representatives from TKS Holdings Inc., the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Ministry of Labour agreed to a trial date of Oct. 26-30, when they appeared in court Thursday.

The fall date was set to leave enough time to give all sides an opportunity to meet and potentially come to a resolution without a trial.

The charges are the result of the partial collapse of Somerset House, at the corner of Bank and Somerset streets, in October 2007. The accident left one worker trapped inside a Bobcat as well as the busy intersection closed for several weeks.

TKS Holdings Inc., as an employer, is charged under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, for failing to ensure the roof and supports in the workplace were strong enough to support applied loads, provide safety instruction to protect the health and safety of a worker, and prepare a health and safety policy and develop and maintain a program to implement it.

An attorney from the law firm Radnoff Pearl, who are representing TKS Holdings Inc., stated that the purpose of the court date was to find out what the Ministry of Labour’s position was regarding a full resolution.

However, since the representatives of both the city and the Ministry had not yet met to discuss the case, the lawyer for the Ministry of Labour said he was not in a position to comment on the matter