Worker injured at Little Italy construction site

By Karen-Luz Sison

The Ontario Ministry of Labour ordered work to stop at the Claridge Homes construction site at Preston Street and Carling Avenue on March 23 after a man fell three metres from a concrete forming panel.

The ministry said in a new release that it issued the order against Bellai Brothers Construction Ltd. after the worker was rushed to the hospital with a head injury.

Police said on Saturday that he has since been released from hospital.

The ministry also demanded that Claridge provide documentation of the incident.

Bellai Brothers has followed an order to make sure construction materials are stacked to prevent tipping, according to a report by CBC News.

The ministry’s stop work order was to stay in place until the company installed a fall protection system at the site.

The condominium project had just resumed construction in January following a year-long delay after the ministry’s investigation into a worker’s death at the same site in 2016.

In March 2016, Olivier Bruneau, a 24-year-old surveyor, was killed at the Claridge site when he was struck by falling ice while working at the bottom of a construction pit.

In that case, the ministry laid eight charges under the Health and Safety Act.

The trial of worksite supervisors is scheduled to take place next year.

The ministry is continuing to investigate last weekend’s incident.