Business Owner Convicted, Fined for Hiring Unlicensed Contractor to Do Electrical Work
June 28, 2017
The owner of a Mississauga, Ontario career college was convicted and fined $18,750 for hiring an unlicensed contractor to perform electrical work.
The transaction was to be performed on a cash basis, with no receipt or record of work and no electrical permits secured. The person received a fatal shock while working on wiring carrying 347 volts of electricity that had not been disconnected from power.
“This is a tragedy for all concerned,” says Scott Saint, Chief Public Safety Officer, Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). “Two people have paid the price — one with his life and the other with this conviction and the knowledge of this incident for the rest of his life.” Business owners and operators must understand legal requirements when hiring people to do electrical work, he says. “It’s the law in Ontario that only licensed electrical contractors can be hired to do so.”
ESA’s website, www.esasafe.com, contains a searchable database of all licensed electrical contractors in Ontario.
Photo courtesy of David Rock Design https://pixabay.com/en/users/DavidRockDesign-2595351/ on Pixabay.
