TORONTO - The Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario is calling for increased action to make construction sites safer after an inspection blitz by government inspectors.
A 90-day inspection campaign was started in January following a Christmas Eve tragedy when four men died after their scaffolding snapped in half and they fell 13 storeys at a Toronto job site.
The inspectors found fall hazards at 63 per cent of the more than 3,900 construction sites they visited across the province.
About 56 per cent of the violations were for missing or improper use or maintenance of guard rails, scaffolds and fall protection systems.
Patrick Dillon of the trades council says the results show "more rigorous action needs to be taken" to eliminate fall hazards.
Dillon says fall-related deaths and injuries are "totally preventable."
He says the Ministry of Labour needs more inspectors to visit all construction sites on a regular basis, in order to ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
