St. Marys Cement has been fined $475,000 after pleading guilty to a workplace safety offence connected to the death of a worker at its Bowmanville plant in 2023.
The court finding said the company, acting as constructor during an annual shutdown, failed to ensure blocking was installed to prevent equipment from moving while repairs were underway. The conviction was entered September 14, 2026, in the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa.
Fatal incident during maintenance shutdown
The incident happened March 21, 2023. A young industrial mechanic millwright apprentice employed by Trade-Mark Industrial was working inside an overburden hopper used to move quarry material for cement production.
The hopper included a gate controlling the flow of material. While the worker was inside completing maintenance, a planned power shutdown elsewhere at the project caused the gate to close. The worker was fatally injured.
St. Marys Cement conducts an annual shutdown at the Bowmanville plant for inspection, maintenance and repair work. During the 2023 shutdown, the workplace was considered a construction project under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, and Trade-Mark Industrial had been hired as a subcontractor.
Court imposes fine and surcharge
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that blocking had not been installed to stop the hopper gate from moving during maintenance. Following the guilty plea, Justice Liana Marcon imposed the $475,000 fine. The court also added the mandatory 25 per cent victim fine surcharge required under the Provincial Offences Act.
The decision was reported from the Ontario court bulletin by Durham Post. DurhamRegion.com and INsauga separately reported the same fine and underlying finding on September 29.
