TORONTO, Ont. - Ontario company Metron Construction and its owner have been fined almost $300,000 in connection with the deaths of four workers in a scaffolding mishap in 2009.

The incident occurred on Dec. 24, 2009, when high-rise scaffolding snapped in an apartment building on Kipling Avenue.

Five workers fell 14 floors, four of them dying and one badly hurt. Metron pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and has been fined $200,000.

The company’s owner, Joel Swartz, was fined $90,000 for health and safety violations.

The fines now are for criminal negligence causing death and health and safety violations.

Labour activists are upset with the judge’s decision, saying they wanted to see jail time, not just fines.

The Ontario Federaion of Labour’s Sid Ryan said it’s nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

“This man … should have gone to jail,” Ryan said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. And until that actually happens in Ontario, we will not see a reduction of carnage in the workplace.”

“It actually means in this province a life is worth $50,000,” Ryan added.

The company had faced a fine of up to $1-million.  

The criminal conviction is the first of its kind in Ontario under the Criminal Code.