The Ontario Ministry of Labour lays charges after the death of construction worker Olivier Bruneau

By Spencer Van Dyk

Claridge Homes, Bellai Brothers Construction Ltd., and two construction site supervisors have all been charged in the March 2016 death of Olivier Bruneau, a 25-year-old surveyor who was killed by a falling chunk of ice at a construction site in Little Italy.

Eight charges in total were laid by the Ontario Ministry of Labour and include two labour code offences for each defendant.

Bruneau died last March 23 while working at the bottom of the excavated site of Claridge’s Icon Condominium at 485 Preston St. He was struck by a mass of ice weighing up to 45 kilograms, which had stretched nearly halfway down the wall of the construction site when it broke free.

The defendants are accused of failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker, specifically “failing to ensure a wall of an excavation was stripped of loose rock or other material that may slide, roll or fall upon a worker,” and “failing to protect a worker from the hazard of falling ice,” both charges under the labour code.

The victim’s father, Christian Bruneau, has been campaigning for a police investigation since his son’s accident. Although Ottawa Police started an investigation in June, some witnesses have reportedly been reluctant to speak with investigators.

The impact of the ice chunks crushed Oliver Bruneau’s ribs and punctured his lungs.

Firefighters used a crane to remove him from the excavated pit, but Bruneau lost vital signs before arriving at the hospital.