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College facility owner pays the price of hiring unlicensed electrical contractor

May 29, 2017 - In 2013, the owner of a career college facility in Mississauga, Ont., hired Elias Mikhail (an unlicensed contractor) to do some electrical work. It was a cash transaction with no receipt or record of work, and no electrical permits secured. And it gets worse...

May 29, 2017  By  Anthony Capkun


Mikhail was electrocuted while working alone, and was not found until the next day by the facility’s owner. An Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) investigation determined Mikhail received a fatal shock while working on wiring carrying 347V of electricity, which had not been disconnected from power.

Last week, the owner (yes, the owner) was convicted in Ontario court of hiring an unlicensed contractor to do electrical work at his business, and fined $18,750.

“This is an important reminder that business owners and operators must understand legal requirements when hiring people to do electrical work,” said ESA’s Scott Saint. “It’s the law in Ontario that only Licensed Electrical Contractors can be hired to do so.”

The fine includes a 25% victim fine surcharge, which is credited to a provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

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