The Ontario Ministry of Labor is investigating the death at the city’s public landfill, located south of Barrhaven, as a workplace incident. The man who died was an employee of NATTIQ Inc., a small office relocation and consulting firm based in Ottawa. It was a difficult two days for the company’s staff members, according to Robert Stanton, executive vice president of NATTIQ. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of grief,” he said in a statement. Stanton said two employees were making a “routine” drop-off at the dump when one of the men fell. Rescuers received a call shortly after 2pm on Saturday. A man was rushed to hospital in “critical and life-threatening condition”, according to a spokesperson for the Ottawa Paramedic Service. He later died. The man’s family has asked that his identity remain private. Stanton added that the company, which has a staff of about 20, offers grief support and counseling “to our colleagues who are also dealing with the grief of the death of a colleague”. The employee was employed by NATTIQ Inc., a small office relocation and consulting company. Its executive vice-president told CBC the company takes the health and safety of its workers seriously and will cooperate with the Labor Department’s investigation “by any means possible.” (Alexander Behne/CBC)
Landfill staff offered support
The Trail Road landfill was the City of Ottawa’s only public landfill for several decades. Quentin Levescu, deputy general manager of Ottawa’s public works department, said the city is “saddened by the incident” and “expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual.” In a memo to Ottawa council Sunday, Levesque said the department “also provided support to landfill personnel on site at the time” for what he called “an unfortunate fatality.” NATTIQ ‘take[s] takes the health and safety of its employees seriously,” Stanton’s statement said, and the company plans to cooperate fully with the investigation. When the CBC visited the company’s headquarters, a representative of the Ministry of Labor was coming. The investigation is ongoing. Trucks line up to enter the Trail Road dump. The facility was the City of Ottawa’s only public landfill for decades. (Alexander Behne/CBC)
