Province and police still investigating National Steel Car after 2022 worker death in Hamilton

As Hamilton workers join people across the country Friday in mourning those hurt or killed on the job, there's still little known about multiple investigations into National Steel Car following a man's death there last year.

Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and the Hamilton Police Service each told CBC Hamilton this week that they are still investigating Quoc Le's death. The 51-year-old welder was killed at National Steel Car — which makes railroad freight and tank cars — in June, 2022 after a 2,000-pound bulkhead fell.

He was the third worker to die at the Kenilworth Avenue North plant in two years. Fraser Cowan died on the job there in September 2020, while Collin Grayley lost his life in April 2021.

Following Le's death, the The United Steelworkers Union asked police to investigate the company for criminal negligence, describing a "deplorable health and safety situation" at the plant. At the time, the ministry told CBC Hamilton it had issued 78 orders – citations for safety issues that required remediation – at National Steel Car between June 3, 2021, and the same date in 2022.

Now, less than a year later, CBC Hamilton has learned the ministry has issued 407 orders at the Hamilton plant since June 1, 2022 – a fivefold increase compared to the previous year.

Frank Crowder, president of the United Steelworkers Union local that represents National Steel Car workers, says that's because the ministry is now monitoring the plant much more closely.

"The average workplace in our area only gets two or three orders written within a year and we are at the level of 407... which sounds very scary, but it's because they're looking at everything," Crowder told CBC Hamilton on Thursday, noting he welcomed that scrutiny.

"A lot of these are very tiny, small things and we're correcting them very quickly. There aren't that many outstanding of those 407. A good majority are resolved."

He described better safety warnings and labels, as well as improved practices around discarding broken equipment, among numerous safety upgrades. Crowder said he was pleased to see so many improvements over the past year.

"We're on a good path," he said, adding that keeping workers safe is a "never-ending journey" and the union's top priority.

CBC Hamilton requested more details on the orders, but the ministry declined comment, citing its ongoing investigation. CBC Hamilton also contacted National Steel Car and a lawyer who has previously acted on its behalf and did not hear back.

Ontario raised maximum fines, but they have yet to be imposed

After Le's death last year, Ontario's Deputy Minister of Labour Greg Meredith said the ministry had recently hired 100 more workplace inspectors and ushered in new legislation that he said will make fines against offending workplaces the highest in Canada.

As of July 1, 2022 corporate officers and directors convicted of failing to uphold the Occupational Health and Safety Act or failing to comply with inspection orders face a maximum fine of $1.5 million. The maximum fine for other convictions under the act rose to $500,000.

"We are confident that these changes will help protect workers on the job and help ensure safer working environments across the province," Meredith said at the time.

As of Tuesday, "the new maximum fines have not been imposed in a prosecution," ministry spokesperson Anu Dhar told CBC Hamilton in an email.

Dhar said the fines only apply to prosecutions for contraventions that occurred after July 1, and that it is up to the courts to impose them, not the ministry.

"The Ontario government is also proposing amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act… that, if passed, would increase the maximum fine for corporations convicted of an offence under the OHSA to $2 million," Dhar wrote.

'You're completely different the next day,' says injured worker

In 2022, 64 workers were killed in Ontario, and 2,685 were critically injured, according to ministry data.

Both figures saw a slight increase from the previous few years, although the ministry notes the number of workers in Ontario has "been increasing since 2018," and that 2022 saw many people return to the workplace who had been home during COVID-19 lockdowns.

In 2021, there were 57 deaths and 2,387 critical injuries, while in 2020, Ontario saw 54 deaths and 2,035 injuries.

"Each year, the Ontario government invests over $100 million into occupational health and safety initiatives to prevent workplace fatalities and injuries," Dhar said.

"In 2022, ministry inspectors conducted more than 67,000 field visits at workplaces across the province of Ontario and issued over 98,900 orders. Our ministry responds to every complaint we receive. Any worker in Ontario who feels unsafe should report their concerns to the ministry so we can investigate."

For those workers who are injured on the job, getting financial support through the Workers Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) can be a complicated and onerous task, says Jeannie Howe, president of the Hamilton and District Injured Workers Group, a non-profit that helps injured workers understand their rights and the WSIB process.

"About 70 per cent of the claims are denied," she told CBC Hamilton on Tuesday, noting it can be particularly hard for people to get compensation for injuries that are not visible on a medical scan, such as head injuries and mental health issues that stem from the injury,  as well as chronic injuries that stem from repetitive tasks in the workplace.

"If you fight your claim, you're fighting it in line with everyone else who's fighting it. The timeline in appeals is very, very long," she said.

Howe is herself an injured worker. She got a concussion and broken ribs after a fall at a car rental agency where she worked in 2013, and says she still experiences effects of the head injury. She says a workplace injury often leads to psychological fallout. In her case, she faced debilitating depression and considered suicide. It can also put significant stress on other members of the household, she says.

"You're completely different the next day," she said. "You can't do what you used to do."

Multiple events Friday in Hamilton

The Hamilton and District Injured Workers Group will lay a wreath at the Day of Mourning Monument outside city hall at 11 a.m. Friday.

At 5:30 p.m., the Hamilton and District Labour Council will commemorate the day inside the council chambers, followed by a procession to the monument.

Speakers at the ceremony, which is open to the public, include Frank Crowder, president of the United Steelworkers local at National Steel Car; Trudy Cowan, widow of Fraser Cowan, who died at the plant; and John Dinino, national president of the Amalgamated Transit Union of Canada.