Worker was fatally injured while performing maintenance work
A Sudbury-area pool company, its owner and a second man face criminal negligence charges after a 19-year-old was fatally poisoned by carbon monoxide during maintenance work in Lively, Ont., testing the Criminal Code duty owed by anyone who directs work.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) charged Craig Boyer, 59, of Sheguiandah, Dennis Beaudry, 53, of Lively, and Sunswim Pool Concepts and Design Limited, of Coniston, on Oct. 8, The Sudbury Star reported. Each faces one count under section 220(b) of the Criminal Code. Sudbury.com identified Boyer as the owner.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Roch (Rocco) Renaud was found unconscious in Lively on May 23, 2025, and a postmortem confirmed the 19-year-old worker's carbon monoxide poisoning, Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) reported.
Ministry findings not yet public
Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development told Sudbury.com on April 28 that its "workplace fatality" investigation was complete, with findings under review. It has not said publicly whether it issued orders or laid Occupational Health and Safety Act charges.
Authorities have not said who employed Renaud or directed his work, a central question under the Westray duty. A preliminary report to the ministry said he was "fatally injured while performing maintenance work," COS reported.
OPP Sgt. Mat Dufresne said police cannot discuss the accused's occupations or affiliations while the case is before the courts, The Sudbury Star reported. The accused appear in Sudbury court Jan. 6, 2027.
Sudbury police transferred the case after two officers were suspended with pay under the Community Safety and Policing Act, COS reported. Chief Sarah Cunningham cited an "institutional conflict of interest," and the service later said neither accused is a member, The Sudbury Star reported.
Westray convictions remain rare
Section 217.1 of the Criminal Code requires anyone directing others' work to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm, according to Justice Canada. The maximum sentence is life.
The United Steelworkers counted 27 Westray charges and 12 successful prosecutions as of May 2025. "The test for criminal negligence is quite a stringent one and often the evidence to show that higher degree of negligence is hard to marshal … as in many of these circumstances the main witness is deceased," Nova Scotia workplace prosecutor Alex Keaveny told The Canadian Press in 2022.
COS has covered the private prosecution charging Ontario's Ministry of Labour with criminal negligence causing death over a 2006 Sudbury-area mining fatality. Those charges were later stayed, Sudbury.com reported.
Carbon monoxide limits and testing
Ontario's Regulation 833 sets an eight-hour time-weighted average exposure limit of 25 parts per million for carbon monoxide. Employers must take all reasonable measures to protect workers, according to the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA).
Construction rules also require air testing where engines run in enclosed structures, IHSA notes. Ventilation, equipment maintenance and detectors are standard controls.
This month, COS reported that two Ontario construction firms were fined $85,000 over carbon monoxide exposure.
Family remembers Renaud
Renaud's obituary remembers him as "a young man whose passion, kindness, and adventurous spirit brought joy to everyone around him."
He is mourned by his parents, Bobby and Michele, sisters Chloe and Mia, and girlfriend Farrah Farstad, The Sudbury Star reported.
The OPP, the coroner's office and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service are still investigating. Tips can go to 1-888-310-1122.
