TORONTO - Eight orders, including two stop-work orders, were issued by Ontario's Ministry of Labour at the apartment building work site where four migrant workers plunged to their deaths on Christmas Eve, a ministry spokesman says.

One stop-work order handed to Metron Construction Inc. had been lifted by a ministry inspector one week before the men died, said spokesman Matt Blajer, who added none of the orders dealt with the swing stage that broke with deadly consequences.

The four men died after they plummeted 13 storeys to the ground around 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 24. A fifth man is in intensive care with two fractured legs and a broken spine.

The men were making balcony repairs at the apartment building.

Between Oct. 20 and Dec. 17 the ministry conducted nine field visits at the apartment building, Blajer said in an email. On those two dates it issued a total of eight orders, including some dealing with swing stages.

The swing stage that broke had not been inspected by the ministry, Blajer said Thursday.

Metron president Joel Swartz said the ministry attended the site a number of times during the course of the project and called it a "routine practice."

"If a field visit resulted in an order from the Ministry of Labour, the issues were immediately rectified to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Labour," Swartz said in an email.

Swartz said in Metron's 23 years of operation, it has never been charged with any violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Blajer said the ministry has never laid a charge against Metron and there is no record of any conviction against the company.

On Oct. 20, Metron was handed five orders by the Ministry of Labour, after an inspector made a proactive visit to the site.

Those orders included providing proper access to and egress for the swing stages and to ensure wire mesh was securely fastened in place from the toe-board to the top rail of the guardrails of the swing stages. A stop-work order was issued until a re-inspection was done, the ministry said.

Blajer said Metron complied with the orders by Oct. 22 and the stop-work order was lifted at that time.

On Dec. 17, Metron was given three more orders. The ministry said a temporary structure constructed in front of the exit ramp of parking garage needed to be rectified because it did not meet requirements.

A stop-work order was also issued for overhead work from a swing stage at the top of parking garage access that same day, but it was not the same swing stage involved in the deaths.

A Ministry of Labour inspector returned to the site later that day, found the company was in compliance and lifted the stop-work order, the ministry said.

Blajer said the ministry inspects sites depending on the project and that the initial visit to the apartment was not prompted by any concerns about the company but was routine. The ministry's other visits to the site were regular visits and one of them dealt with a complaint about debris.

The ministry has ordered Metron to produce documentation on training records for fall protection training of workers and copies of all health and safety inspections conducted between Sept. 1 to Dec. 24. It has also requested a list of swing stage rental companies used on the project, minutes of health and safety meetings and all rental agreements between Metron and its suppliers.

Swartz said he and his company's workers are devastated.

"We are co-operating with the authorities to determine the cause of this tragic accident," he said.

"In addition Metron is actively conducting its own investigation into the accident and has retained experts to assist it."

Metron has contacted some of the men's families and is attempting to reach family members who live in Russia.

"We are trying to assist the families with practical needs during this time," Swartz said.

On Tuesday, Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan called on Ontario's attorney general to investigate whether criminal negligence was involved. He cited Bill C-45, known as the Westray Bill, that allows criminal charges to be laid if a company causes death or serious injury due to negligence.

Ontario government officials said it is the police who should decide whether charges of criminal negligence should be laid in the deaths.