'The worker fell approximately 11 feet to the ground and was critically injured'
Reilly's Roofing Ltd., a roofing contractor based in Georgian Bluffs, Ont., and its director have been fined a combined $145,000 after a worker was critically injured in an 11-foot fall on a residential construction site in Mount Forest.
The employer, along with Adam Reilly, a director and officer of the company, pleaded guilty in the Provincial Offences Court in Guelph. On June 3, 2026, Justice of the Peace Royak fined the company $130,000 and fined Reilly $15,000. Crown Counsel Katie Krafchick prosecuted.
The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, the surcharge "is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime."
How the incident occurred
The offence dates to December 22, 2023, when workers employed by Reilly's Roofing attended a residential construction project at 362 Fergus Street North to install shingles on a single-storey home.
To reach the roof, a worker climbed a ladder placed on frozen, uneven ground that was not secured at the top or bottom. The worker was not wearing fall protection, and no fall protection system was installed at the time of the incident.
As the worker stepped from the ladder onto the roof, the ladder twisted. In the Ministry's words, "the worker fell approximately 11 feet to the ground and was critically injured."
Regulatory findings and director liability
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation "found that required fall protection measures were not in place," the release states. The Ministry concluded that the prescribed measures for work performed at height had not been carried out.
The company, as an employer, and Reilly, as its director, failed to ensure that fall protection measures were in place, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects). The charges were laid under sections 25(1)(c) and 32(a) of the Act and section 26.1(2) of the regulation.
