Province and police still investigating National Steel Car after 2022 worker death in Hamilton

As Hamilton workers join people across the country Friday in mourning those hurt or killed on the job, there's still little known about multiple investigations into National Steel Car following a man's death there last year. 

Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and the Hamilton Police Service each told CBC Hamilton this week that they are still investigating Quoc Le's death. The 51-year-old welder was killed at National Steel Car — which makes railroad freight and tank cars — in June, 2022 after a 2,000-pound bulkhead fell.

He was the third worker to die at the Kenilworth Avenue North plant in two years. Fraser Cowan died on the job there in September 2020, while Collin Grayley lost his life in April 2021.

Following Le's death, the The United Steelworkers Union asked police to investigate the company for criminal negligence, describing a "deplorable health and safety situation" at the plant. At the time, the ministry told CBC Hamilton it had issued 78 orders – citations for safety issues that required remediation – at National Steel Car between June 3, 2021, and the same date in 2022.

Now, less than a year later, CBC Hamilton has learned the ministry has issued 407 orders at the Hamilton plant since June 1, 2022 – a fivefold increase compared to the previous year.

Frank Crowder, president of the United Steelworkers Union local that represents National Steel Car workers, says that's because the ministry is now monitoring the plant much more closely.

"The average workplace in our area only gets two or three orders written within a year and we are at the level of 407... which sounds very scary, but it's because they're looking at everything," Crowder told CBC Hamilton on Thursday, noting he welcomed that scrutiny. 

"A lot of these are very tiny, small things and we're correcting them very quickly. There aren't that many outstanding of those 407. A good majority are resolved."

He described better safety warnings and labels, as well as improved practices around discarding broken equipment, among numerous safety upgrades. Crowder said he was pleased to see so many improvements over the past year.

"We're on a good path," he said, adding that keeping workers safe is a "never-ending journey" and the union's top priority.

CBC Hamilton requested more details on the orders, but the ministry declined comment, citing its ongoing investigation. CBC Hamilton also contacted National Steel Car and a lawyer who has previously acted on its behalf and did not hear back.

After Le's death last year, Ontario's Deputy Minister of Labour Greg Meredith said the ministry had recently hired 100 more workplace inspectors and ushered in new legislation that he said will make fines against offending workplaces the highest in Canada. 

As of July 1, 2022 corporate officers and directors convicted of failing to uphold the Occupational Health and Safety Act or failing to comply with inspection orders face a maximum fine of $1.5 million. The maximum fine for other convictions under the act rose to $500,000. 

"We are confident that these changes will help protect workers on the job and help ensure safer working environments across the province," Meredith said at the time.