(Ontario, Canada) -- Ontario Labour Minister Peter Fonseca is resisting a call from trade unions for a public inquiry into a Christmas Eve construction accident in Toronto that claimed four lives.
The four construction workers died when a suspended platform at an apartment building in the city's north west collapsed, sending them 13 floors to the ground. A fifth worker survived the fall but is in hospital in critical condition with severe head injuries.
Fonseca said Thursday there is already a police investigation, a Ministry of Labour investigation and a coroner's inquest underway and that he was confident the government would get the answers it needs from these investigations.
Patrick Dillon of the Provincial Building & Construction Trades Council of Ont. said in a press conference that the accident, following the deaths of 12 other workers in the year, makes it clear an inquiry is needed to assess how to better protect workers.
"Something needs to be done to stop the carnage that goes on in the construction workplace," he said.
Mike Yorke, president of Carpenter's Union Local 27 in York Region, said he did not know if the workers had the proper training for the job they were working on, but he said if they did they would have taken better precautions before stepping onto the platform.
"We believe this was an entirely preventable tragedy," he said. "Had the workers been wearing the proper safety equipment, full body harness, a lanyard tied to a lifeline ... we believe this could have been prevented."
Fonseca had announced earlier in the week inspectors would be at sites across the province looking for infractions.
"We want to ensure that Ontarians are safe at their workplace and these actions we're taking serve as a reminder that safety practices must be followed when working above the ground," Fonseca said in a news release.
The inspections will begin in mid-January.
The inspectors will concentrate on suspended platforms and will also "begin a heightened enforcement campaign targeting fall hazards in the construction sector."
The minister said he will decide on further measures after the inspection report is delivered to him within 90 days.
Source: http://concreteproducts.com/concretecurrents/assume-additional-Aggregate-Industries-1223/