Mr. Mike’s Plumbing facing 11 charges in fatal trench collapse

The company employing an apprentice plumber who died on the job in 2023 is now facing 11 safety-related charges.

Liam Johnston died on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in a trench collapse in Calgary. The 27-year-old plumber was working for Mr. Mike’s Plumbing and, on that tragic day, had been asked to assist with sewer repairs in the city’s Charleswood community.

Johnston entered a trench approximately three to six metres deep to access a sewer line. One of the trench walls unexpectedly collapsed, burying him under dirt and debris from the steep slope above.

Mr. Mike’s Plumbing is now facing the following charges, according to a CTV News report:

• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of a worker engaged in the work of that employer, by failing to ensure that they were protected from the collapse of a wall of an excavation;
• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act, failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their worker by failing to sufficiently or at all stabilize a wall of an excavation to prevent its collapse;
• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act, failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their worker by failing to ensure a wall of an excavation was sufficiently cut back or temporary protective structures were installed to prevent collapse of the wall on the worker;
• Section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act, failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their worker by failing to implement or monitor the implementation of a safe work procedure for the task of working in and around an excavation;
• Section 443(1)(a) of the OHS Code, where provisions of section 443(2) of the OHS Code were not applicable, failed to stabilize the soil in an excavation at its work site by shoring or cutting back, contrary to section 443(1)(a) of the OHS Code;
• Section 446(2) of the OHS Code, failure to ensure a worker did not enter an excavation that did not comply with Part 32 of the OHS Code by failing to comply with section(s) 443(1)(a) and/or 450(1) and/or 456(1), contrary to section 446(2) of the OHS Code;
• Section 450(1) of the OHS Code, failure to ensure that before a worker began working in an excavation that was more than 1.5 metres deep and closer to the wall or bank than the depth of the excavation, that the worker was protected from cave-ins or sliding or rolling material;
• Section 456(1)(b) of the OHS Code, failure to ensure temporary protective structures in an excavation more than three metres deep were designed, constructed and installed in accordance with the specifications of a professional engineer;
• Section 7(2) of the OHS Code, failure to prepare a report of the results of the hazard assessment and the methods used to control and eliminate the hazards identified;
• Section 7(4)(c) of the OHS Code, failure to ensure the hazard assessment was repeated when a work process or operation changed; and
• Section 9(1) of the OHS Code, failure where an existing or potential hazard to workers was identified during a hazard assessment, failed to take measures to eliminate the hazard, or if elimination was not reasonably practicable, to control the hazard.

The last charge against the company, in particular, makes Johnston;s family feel "angry and sick,” according to CBC.

"It shouldn't have happened," said stepdad Adam Groves, according to the report.

That echoes the sentiment shared by Jon Malley, a coworker of Johnston’s, following the incident.

Malley said he asked for a trench box to be used at all future projects to protect employees from a potential collapse.

"I felt sick to my stomach because it was 100 percent preventable,” said Malley, who wants to see someone held accountable for Johnston’s death. "This is totally (an) avoidable tragedy. Liam wasn't given the opportunity to go to school for first-year plumbing or anything like that. He was robbed of his life and his career."

Mr. Mike’s first court appearance is scheduled for July 22, 2025, in the Calgary Court of Justice.