Ottawa's LRT project logs more safety orders than comparable worksites

Ottawa's Confederation Line light rail project has racked up considerably more workplace safety orders than two other major transit projects in Ontario, despite having the shortest tunnel and smallest budget of the three.

Numbers provided by the Ministry of Labour show the Ottawa project has received 721 corrective orders since it began in March 2013, and has been under an additional 111 stop-work orders.

The Confederation Line includes 12.5 kilometres of rail with a 2.5-kilometre tunnel and 13 stations.

Given the scale of Ottawa's project, it can be difficult to draw direct comparisons; but two transit projects in Toronto are similar in many respects. 

The Eglinton Crosstown Line has been under construction for just over four years and has had just 86 corrective orders and five stop-work orders. The project, also known as Line 5 Eglinton, is a 19-kilometre LRT line with a 10-kilometre tunnel and 25 stations.

The recently completed Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension has had 629 corrective orders and 43 stop-work orders issued against it, and was under construction for nearly seven years before opening in late 2017. It includes six stations and 8.6 kilometres of underground track.

Workers raised safety concerns

In Ottawa, numerous workers have raised safety concerns, especially when it comes to the tunnel section of the project underneath the city's core.

 Workers have told CBC about tight spaces, inadequate lighting and tripping hazards in the tunnel.

Many of the corrective orders issued against the project involve those very issues.

The stop-work orders are more stringent measures and can halt construction on part of the project until the problems are addressed, or forbid the use of certain types of equipment.

The Rideau Transit Group (RTG) declined an interview request, but said in a statement it stands behind its safety record on the project.

"The safety record on the Confederation Line project outperforms the Ontario industry average and there have been no serious injury accidents on this project attributed to construction work/activity," the statement reads.

Orders dealt with quickly, RTG says

RTG said it deals with any Ministry of Labour orders quickly and works collaboratively with inspectors to improve safety.

In a separate statement, the city said it holds RTG to a very high standard when it comes to workplace safety.  

"The city is committed to safety and has been clear with RTG of the importance of having the safest work environment possible," said Richard Holder, the city's acting director of O-Train construction

Holder noted the lost time injury frequency rate — a comparison of the number of workplace injuries to the total number of hours worked — is very low on the Ottawa project.

"It is important to note that to date over 6.5 million hours of labour has been logged on this project, and to date 12 lost time injuries have been reported."

The lost time injury frequency rate is a common method within the industry of measuring workplace safety.

Complaints dwindling

Nevertheless, John Burke, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said he's surprised by the number of orders that have been issued in Ottawa.

"The number is quite high as compared to what I would have thought," Burke said.

"The concerns I know from my members were genuine concerns and any worker, any workplace, if you're not feeling safe, they need to be addressed."

Burke said the project has improved recently and the number of complaints he hears from workers and others has dropped dramatically.  

"It's obvious they're getting those concerns met, because I am not getting calls about the project."

With Ottawa planning to begin expanding its LRT system once the first phase is finished later this year, Burke said employers must make sure they remain vigilant when it comes to safety.

Ministry of Labour inspectors have visited the Ottawa worksite 476 times — 167 times to investigate specific complaints and 309 times to perform more "proactive" inspections, according to ministry spokesperson Janet Deline.