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Unionized construction workers and managers attending the Ontario Building Trades convention last week listened soberly as multiple speakers offered updates in the wake of a construction site explosion in North York that injured seven.

Reports indicated the injuries were the result of a natural gas explosion and fire that occurred at a highrise construction site on Esther Shiner Boulevard around 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 14. Toronto paramedics said they took seven people to Sunnybrook hospital, four of whom had critical injuries, according to the Canadian Press.��

The explosion was reported to have occurred on the 22nd floor.

UA Local 46 business manager David Griffiths offered an update at the convention two days later.

Among the explosion victims were five members of Local 46 including two apprentices, one of whom is a female worker. One victim is said to be a member of IBEW and one works as a unionized carpenter.

At that time five remained in the Sunnybrook burn unit, with two in a coma. Surgery and skin grafting procedures were being scheduled, Griffiths said.��

“Our thoughts and prayers are with these members, their families and all who are standing by them during this unimaginable time,” said Griffiths. “We stand here today not just as individual trades but as building trades family. When one of us gets hurt, we all feel it.”��

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Passing the hat

A hat was passed for donations and Griffiths said the business managers of the three trades would discuss the best use of the funds collected to assist in the recovery.����

“As of now, there are still many questions and few answers about what exactly happened, but we do know one thing for certain, these are our brothers and our sister. They need our support,” said Griffiths.��

Fire crews, staff from Enbridge Gas and engineers and inspectors from the Ministry of Labour all visited the site to begin investigations. A ministry spokesperson would not divulge the identify of contractors involved nor any orders given to secure the jobsite, saying, “As the investigation is ongoing, no further details are available at this time.”��

Griffiths said he had received a call from Minister of Labour David Piccini, who had visited the workers in hospital.����

On Oct. 19, Piccini issued a statement, commenting, “My thoughts are with the workers, their families and everyone impacted by this devastating incident.��

“Every worker deserves to come home safe at the end of the day and the Ministry of Labour has launched a full investigation on the cause of the explosion to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”��

Convention speaker Brian Barron, CEO of the Ontario ��������ion Secretariat, previously worked as a construction health and safety inspector.����

He told the delegates, “After 20 years of investigating hundreds of critical injuries and fatalities, I can tell you that the impact on the project, the co-workers, the friends and, most importantly, the family, is profound. Your support is important and critical to the recovery.”��

Laura Walton, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, offered a pledge that the OFL would fully support the workers and their unions during the investigation.��

“Every time a worker is killed on the job, I send a letter to the chief of police of that jurisdiction calling on them to exercise the Westray law,” stated Walton. “Employers and government need to be held accountable. If you kill a worker, you should go to jail.”��

Enforcement of credentials on jobsites is also important, Walton said.����

“There are far too many unqualified and non-unionized workers on our jobsites. This has to stop. We cannot stand by and have the qualifications of skilled trades deskilled. Having a hammer doesn’t make you a carpenter; having tin snips doesn’t make you a sheet metal worker.”