Worker was trying to remove a hose at the time
A North York trenchless technology contractor and one of its site supervisors have been fined a total of $147,000 after a worker suffered serious injuries from exposure to hot water during a water main relining project in Cambridge, Ontario.
Fer-Pal Construction Ltd. – based at 171 Fenmar Drive in North York – was ordered to pay a $140,000 fine, while supervisor Antonio Visconti was fined $7,000, following guilty pleas in Kitchener Provincial Offences Court. The convictions were registered on October 3, 2025.
Justice of the Peace Michael Cuthbertson imposed the penalties along with a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge under the Provincial Offences Act. According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, “the surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.”
Incident during hot-water curing of water main liner
The case stems from a July 11, 2023 incident at a construction project at 561 Hespeler Road in Cambridge, where Fer-Pal had been contracted by the City of Cambridge to rehabilitate a section of water main at the workplace location. The crew consisted of site supervisor Visconti and five workers.
The work involved installing a resin liner in approximately 100 metres of 16‑inch water main. To cure the liner, “water was heated in a boiler truck to approximately 65–70°C and then circulated in the water main for several hours,” the ministry stated.
During the final stages of the relining process, a foreman instructed a worker to remove a hose from a connection in the access pit. The ministry reports that “the worker climbed into the excavation using wooden shoring and began to remove the hose.” In doing so, “the worker was exposed to hot water circulating in the water main and suffered serious injuries.”
The worker attempted to escape the excavation but initially fell back. The ministry noted that “the worker had attempted to exit the pit once, but fell back in. The worker managed to climb out of the pit after a second attempt.”
Ladder not installed, delaying emergency egress
A ministry investigation found that a ladder had been supplied at the edge of the excavation at grade “but was not installed in the excavation at the time of the incident.” The ministry concluded that this resulted in delayed egress from the excavation when the incident occurred.
The ministry determined that Fer-Pal failed, as an employer, to ensure prescribed measures and procedures were carried out, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Specifically, the company “failed, as an employer, to ensure that adequate means of egress was provided to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency, contrary to section 71 of Ontario Regulation 213/91 and section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
Visconti, as supervisor, was found to have contravened section 27(1)(a) of the Act by not ensuring compliance with the requirements for safe egress from a below-grade work area. According to the ministry, Visconti “failed as a supervisor to ensure egress from a work area located below ground level in the form of stairs, a runway, ramp or ladder, and failed to provide adequate means of egress from the work area to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency, contrary to section 27(1)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” noted the Ontario government.
The ministry also said that Fer-Pal “failed, as an employer, to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 71 of O. Reg. 213/91: Construction Projects were carried out, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Additionally, Antonio Visconti, as a supervisor, contravened section 27(1)(a) of the Act.”
Under workplace health and safety rules, an employer must “take every reasonable precaution to ensure the workplace is safe” and train workers about “any potential and actual hazards and how to work safely,” according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
