Island Wide Roofing to pay $10K after man breaks legs in accident

A judge slapped a P.E.I. roofing company with a $10,000 penalty in provincial court Tuesday, saying the province's fines for workplace safety infractions are too low.

Judge Nancy Orr levied the penalty against Island Wide Roofing and Renovations Inc.of Montague on Tuesday.

An employee of the company broke both legs after falling from a roof last August in New Glasgow.

"Fines in P.E.I. are significantly lower than other provinces," said Orr.

The company had pleaded guilty to one count of failure to adequately train staff, under the P.E.I. Occupational Health and Safety Act.Two other infractions against the company were stayed.

Full recovery expected

The company's owners, Daniel Hogan and Glenn Ellis, attended court with defence lawyer Brandon Forbes.

An agreed statement of facts was read in court by Crown prosecutor Gerald Quinn.

According to that statement the employee, Matthew Arsenault, was in the process of clipping his safety harness onto anchor ropes on the roof of a house when he lost his footing.

The roof was wet and slippery from rain and Arsenaulthad mud on his boots.

Arsenault fell to the ground, and suffered bilateral lower leg fractures and dislocations. He is expected to recover fully.

Training postponed

According to the agreed facts, the company had been planning to conduct required training sessions but had postponed them due to scheduling issues.

The company acknowledged proper training could have prevented the fall.

The $10,000 penalty includes a $1,000 fine and a $25 surcharge.

The rest of the money will go to the Workers' Compensation Board of P.E.I. to be used for education and training.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Downtown condo approval determined by 'the marketplace'
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Island authors recognized at joint award ceremony