Details around the incident remain scarce
Ontario's labour ministry is investigating a workplace fatality at a heavy civil construction company in Lakeshore, Ont., after a worker injured on the job in September died nearly three weeks later.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development was notified of a workplace incident at Facca Inc on Sept. 18, 2026, according to a ministry statement reported by CTV News Windsor on Oct. 15. The ministry was informed on Oct. 8 that the worker had died, CTV News reported.
Facca Inc describes itself on its website as a heavy civil contractor founded in 1955. It is based in Ruscom Station, a community in Lakeshore. The ministry has not said whether the incident happened there or at a project site.
Police and ministry response
Essex County OPP confirmed to CTV News that officers attended the scene at about 3:17 p.m. on Sept. 18 to assist with a workplace injury. Police said a man was taken to hospital by EMS.
A ministry inspector attended the workplace, according to the CTV News report. The ministry's statement, as reported, did not say what work was under way, what equipment was involved, whether orders have been issued, or how the ministry learned of the death.
The ministry said it would not release further details while the investigation is ongoing, CTV News reported. The worker has not been identified, and CTV News reported no response from Facca Inc.
Employer reporting duties under Ontario law
Under section 51(1) of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, when a person is killed or critically injured at a workplace, the employer and constructor, if any, must immediately notify a ministry inspector, the joint health and safety committee or representative, and any union. A written report to a ministry director must follow within 48 hours, according to the province's guide to the act.
Section 51(2) requires employers to preserve the scene of a fatality or critical injury, a provision OHS Insider has described as placing broad obligations on employers.
Since 2021, the required contents of those reports have been set out in O. Reg. 420/21, which also defines "critically injured" and requires employers to keep copies for three years, according to law firm Hicks Morley.
Fatalities in Ontario and Canada
The ministry's construction program recorded 21 worker fatalities and 425 critical injuries in 2024-25, up from 15 fatalities the year before, according to provincial data. Nationally, compensation boards accepted 1,042 work-related death claims in 2024, according to a 2026 report by Sean Tucker and Anya Keefe based on Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) data.
Citing earlier research, the authors said the true annual toll is "likely ten times higher than reported by the AWCBC," Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) reported.
Other Ontario deaths COS has covered this year include a 23-year-old man trapped under heavy equipment at an Ottawa soil company on Sept. 9, a man killed in a tow truck-related accident at a Brampton yard on Oct. 7, and shipyard supervisor Justin Smith, 29, who fell into Hamilton Harbour on Jan. 26.
