Company pleads guilty to safety violations
Weir’s Construction Ltd. fined $3,750
A well-known construction company based in Conception Bay South has been slapped with $3,750 in fines stemming from a series of St. John’s bylaw violations.
Weir’s Construction Ltd. was sentenced in provincial court on Thursday after pleading guilty to four charges under the City of St. John’s Act.
Originally facing more than 20 charges, it could have been a much more expensive day for the company had the majority of charges not been withdrawn by the prosecution as a result of a plea bargain or having no reasonable chance of conviction.
On Aug. 29, 2016, City of St. John’s senior building inspector Todd Fitzgerald visited Weir’s Construction at 195 Conception Bay South Bypass Road — commonly referred to as the Batch Plant Extension — and determined there were numerous violations.
He found that landings and steps and a missing handrail on an exterior staircase failed to meet the requirements of the National Building Code of Canada. He also determined the company had contravened the National Fire Code of Canada by failing to have fire extinguishers throughout the building. Under the City of St. John’s Act, all three are considered offences and therefore infractions.
The fourth charge for a concrete tank constructed without a permit was strictly a violation of the city’s bylaws.
Fitzgerald drafted a notice that was sent to Weir’s on Oct. 5, 2016, setting out the violations and asking that the national code issues be remedied within seven days and the tank in 15.
As of Dec. 12, Fitzgerald noted, the violations were still outstanding, and he sent another notice to mitigate the issues that was received by the company on Dec. 16.
On Jan. 17, 2017, Fitzgerald returned to the site and found that the issues not been addressed and referred the matter to legal action.
As part of the sentencing, Weir’s has until Aug. 31 to resolve the outstanding issues and 45 days to pay the fines — $1,000 for each of the code violations and $750 for the missing permit.
Prosecutor Katie Philpott noted in court that the city recognized Weir’s had entered guilty pleas and that it has been working to correct all the issues, leading to a plea bargain. Still, she also said no work began until legal action occurred.
Defence lawyer Kyle Rees said the company agreed to all the conditions and is working to correct communication matters that played a part in things getting out of hand.
Judge Jacqueline M. Brazil said it’s an unfortunate situation that could have been avoided. She said the city is not trying to make things difficult for the company, but safety issues are “not to be minimized or treated lightly.”