Business owner fined $15K after man killed doing unlicensed electrical work

By The Canadian Press

An Ontario court has fined a business owner $15,000 for hiring an unlicensed contractor who was killed doing electrical work.

Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority says Elias Mikhail was electrocuted in October 2013 at a career college in Mississauga.

The owner, Jamal Shihadeh, was paying Mikhail cash and had no permits for the electrical work.

An investigation found that Mikhail was jolted by wiring carrying 347 volts and died.

Shihadeh found his body a day later.

Scott Saint, with the safety authority, says the conviction underlines the dangers of improperly done and unlicensed electrical work.

“Two people have paid the price — one with his life and the other with this conviction and the knowledge of this incident for the rest of his life,” Saint said in a statement. “This is an important reminder that business owners and operators must understand legal requirements when hiring people to do electrical work.”

Ontario law makes it an offence for a business to do electrical work without a licence. Licensed contractors are obliged to follow a series of safety rules.

In addition to the fine, the court ordered Shihadeh to pay another $3,750 as a victim surcharge.

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