Ontario Village Fined $93,750 for Training LODD

Posted by: Curt Varone March 8, 2012 2 Comments

In Ontario, Canada the Ministry of Labour has fined the Village of Point Edward a total of $93,750 for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act following the 2010 death of a volunteer firefighter. Gary Kendall died on January 30, 2010 during ice rescue training when an unexpected movement of an ice flow pushed him under water for over four minutes.

The Ministry of Labour issued a total of 11 charges against the Village, Fire Chief Doug MacKenzie, and Terry Harrison, who organized the training. On Tuesday, the Village pled guilty to failing to take reasonable precautions to protect a worker, and agreed to pay the fine. In lieu of the plea, the remaining charges against the Village and Chief MacKenzie were withdrawn.

In accepting the plea, Justice Deborah Austin referred to the incident as “a tragically preventable death.” The case against Terry Harrison is scheduled for trial on May 8, 2012.

More on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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