Employer placed on two years of enhanced regulatory supervision
Albatross Roofing Ltd. has been fined $200,000 after a worker died when he fell through a roof at a construction site.
The Edmonton roofing contractor pleaded guilty on Oct. 28 in the Edmonton Court of Justice to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker.
The fine includes the victim fine surcharge, all remaining charges were withdrawn, and both the company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal.
The incident occurred on Dec. 11, 2023, at a construction site in Edmonton. In addition to the fine, the Alberta government placed Albatross Roofing on two years of enhanced regulatory supervision — a measure that “requires a convicted party to complete a number of action items to improve corporate or individual health and safety systems or knowledge.”
Albatross Roofing was not the only company held to account for that day’s fatality: Arbutus Landscaping Inc., acting as the prime contractor on the site, was separately fined $318,000 for failing to establish a system or process to ensure compliance with OHS laws following a guilty plea in August 2026.
Dual prosecutions signal multi-party accountability
The two prosecutions together illustrate how Alberta’s OHS framework apportions liability across the full chain of responsibility on a shared worksite.
Under Alberta’s OHS legislation, prime contractors carry a distinct duty to co-ordinate the health and safety activities of all employers working under them — a responsibility that exists independently of whatever obligations individual trade contractors hold toward their own workers.
The combined penalties from the Dec. 11 incident total $518,000, a figure that sends a clear message to the industry.
COS has previously reported on other Alberta employers placed under enhanced regulatory supervision following workplace fatalities, a consequence that has become a consistent feature of serious OHS sentencing in the province.
Enhanced supervision orders go beyond a one-time financial penalty. Any failure to meet the order’s requirements during the two-year supervision period could expose Albatross Roofing to further legal consequences. According to the Alberta government, sentence documents are available through the Edmonton Court of Justice, as the ministry of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration does not provide them directly.
The Alberta government states that its OHS laws “set basic health and safety rules for workplaces across the province” and provide “guidance for employers to help them ensure their workplaces are as healthy and safe as possible.” Charges may be laid when a failure to follow those rules results in a fatality or serious injury. Falls from height are the leading cause of traumatic deaths in Canada’s construction sector, according to the Institute for Work and Health, whose research identified falls from heights as the top driver of traumatic construction fatalities. Roofing operations carry some of the highest exposure to that risk. COS has also covered a previous Alberta OHS investigation launched following a construction site fall, reflecting an ongoing enforcement pattern in this area.
