Updated Nov. 3, 2026, with the sentencing of Albatross Roofing Ltd.
A worker died after falling through a roof at a construction site on Edmonton’s Refinery Row on Dec. 11, 2023.
Nearly three years later, two companies have now been fined a combined $518,000 over that death.
Albatross Roofing Ltd., an Edmonton-based roofing contractor, is the latest. It was fined $200,000 and placed under two years of enhanced safety supervision. In August, the site’s prime contractor, Calgary-based Arbutus Landscaping Inc., was fined $318,000.
The worker has not been publicly named.
Albatross Roofing fined $200,000
Albatross Roofing pleaded guilty on Oct. 28 in Edmonton Court of Justice to one count under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. The province announced the sentence on Nov. 2.
The charge was failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers, by not making sure they were protected from falling while working at height in the days leading up to the death.
The sentence includes:
$200,000 in total, including the victim fine surcharge
Two years of enhanced regulatory supervision, which requires the company to complete a list of steps to improve its safety systems and knowledge
All other charges against the company were withdrawn. Albatross had originally faced 24 counts, including one alleging it failed to replace a cover over an opening or hole. The withdrawn charges were never proven in court.
Albatross and the Crown each have 30 days to appeal the conviction or the sentence.
Arbutus Landscaping was fined $318,000 in August
Arbutus Landscaping pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, also in Edmonton Court of Justice, to one count under the OHS Act. Its charge was failing to establish a system or process to make sure workplace safety laws were followed at the site.
That fine also included the victim fine surcharge, and the remaining charges against Arbutus were withdrawn.
Why a landscaping company was held responsible for a roofing death
Arbutus didn’t do the roofing work. It was the site’s prime contractor.
Under Alberta’s OHS Act, any work site with two or more employers needs a prime contractor. That company is responsible for the safety of everyone on site, not just its own staff, and has to set up systems to coordinate safety across every employer there.
So a company can be prosecuted for what happened to another company’s worker, if it never built the system that should have caught the hazard.
Prime contractor status goes to whoever is designated for a site, not to whichever trade seems most connected to the work. That’s how a landscaping company ended up responsible for a roof.
The two companies pleaded guilty to different things:
Arbutus: it didn’t have a proper system to make sure safety laws were followed across the site.
Albatross: it didn’t make sure its own workers were protected from falling.
What happened on Refinery Row
The worker was replacing the roof of a building near 37 Street and 101 Avenue, in the industrial area of east Edmonton known as Refinery Row. They fell through the roof to the floor below and died.
At the time, Imperial Oil said the building wasn’t part of its nearby Strathcona Refinery, and that it was leased long-term to a third party.
Alberta OHS publishes fatality investigation reports online, but only once the investigation and all court proceedings are finished. With both companies now sentenced, a public report on this death could be released, but the province hasn’t said when.
Falls are a recurring cause of Alberta workplace deaths
Falls through roofs and from heights come up again and again in Alberta’s workplace fatality prosecutions.
Alberta’s OHS Code requires fall protection when a worker could fall three metres or more, and sometimes lower if other hazards are present. Employers have to tell workers about fall hazards at every site, and covers over openings in roofs and floors have to stay in place, or be replaced right away if they’re removed.
Your rights as an Alberta worker
Alberta’s OHS law gives every worker three rights:
The right to know about hazards in the workplace
The right to participate in health and safety decisions
The right to refuse work you believe is dangerous
Refusing unsafe work is a formal process. You report the concern to your employer, the employer investigates, and you can’t be disciplined for a refusal made in good faith. If it isn’t resolved, OHS can be brought in.
To report unsafe work, call the Alberta OHS Contact Centre at 1-866-415-8690, or 780-415-8690 in Edmonton. You can also file a complaint online.
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