A worker was critically injured after falling from a ladder. That is what the court bulletin says. Trade press reports the worker was monitoring a water level in a basement reservoir, but that detail comes from the press, not the bulletin.
What the Ministry charged is the access itself. Frequent access to elevated equipment was necessary, and the company had not provided fixed stairs or an access ladder.
What Happened
On November 3, 2023, a worker at Home Hardware Stores Limited's site at 34 Henry Street West in St. Jacobs was critically injured after falling from a ladder.
The Ministry of Labour investigation found that the company had failed to provide fixed stairs or an access ladder where frequent access to elevated equipment was necessary.
Home Hardware Stores Limited pleaded guilty in the Provincial Offences Court in Kitchener and was fined $75,000 plus a 25% victim fine surcharge. The conviction was registered June 23, 2026.
What the Law Says
The company was convicted under Section 19 of R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 851 (Industrial Establishments) and Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Section 19 requires that where frequent access is required to equipment elevated above or located below floor level, permanent platforms shall be provided with access by a fixed stair or access ladder. Section 25(1)(c) requires an employer to ensure that the prescribed measures and procedures are actually carried out in the workplace.
Basically, what this means is simple: if a worker has to get to the same elevated spot over and over, you owe them a real way up. A ladder leaned against equipment is not a means of access. It is a fall waiting for a bad step.
The court did not treat this as bad luck on a wet rung. It treated it as a missing system. The access was frequent and the fix was ordinary engineering. Fixed stairs or a compliant, secured access ladder would have removed the hazard. The $75,000 fine reflects that the solution existed long before the worker fell.
Three Things This Case Teaches Ontario Employers
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Frequent access changes the rules. A task you perform once a year and one you perform every week are not the same risk. When a worker has to reach the same elevated equipment on a schedule, a leaned ladder is no longer acceptable. Build in fixed stairs or a secured access ladder and treat the recurring climb as a permanent fixture, not a chore.
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The wrong ladder is a hazard, not a shortcut. A ladder pulled off a rack is not access equipment. Match the equipment to the job. If your people are improvising access with whatever is nearby, you have already lost control of the height hazard.
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Access equipment without training is half a control. Even a compliant ladder needs a trained user who knows three points of contact, load limits, and safe descent. Provide the equipment and the instruction. One without the other still ends in a fall.
Walk your building and find every spot where a worker climbs to reach equipment: reservoirs, valves, mezzanines, tank tops, roof access. Ask the person who does it how they get up there, and then go watch them do it. What they reach for, and whether it was built for the climb or just happened to be leaning nearby, will tell you where your next fall is waiting.