KILL A WORKER, GO TO JAIL; UNION SAYS FINES NOT ENOUGH FOR THOSE INVOLVED IN DEATH OF PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKER

RICHMOND HILL, ON, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The Ontario Court of Justice has found New Leaf: Living and Learning Together Inc., an organization that provides support for adults with developmental disabilities and/or other complex needs, guilty of multiple violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), in connection with the preventable death of 50-year-old Personal Support Worker Ashiru Awoyemi, who drowned while supervising a client alone at New Leaf's swimming pool, with no lifeguard present, in February 2021.

Despite the guilty verdict, nobody involved will face jail time. Instead, New Leaf and one of the managers involved in the tragedy will face fines totalling $255,000, which are payable over a ten-year period and will mostly go to the Ministry of Finance, not Mr. Awoyemi's family.

SEIU Healthcare, the union representing Ashiru and other workers at New Leaf, says the verdict confirmed that this was a preventable tragedy and that the weak sentence will not send the much-needed message that unsafe working conditions will be met with real consequence.

"$255,000. That's the price our justice system is putting on the life of a care worker," said SEIU Healthcare President Tyler Downey. "The neglect by New Leaf led to the death of a father and husband who went to work that day so he could provide to his family in Nigeria and reach his dream of bringing them to Canada. Instead, his life was stolen, and his families' dreams were shattered. These weak fines are not justice and won't prevent more tragedies in the future. If you kill a worker, you should go to jail."

SOURCE SEIU Healthcare

For media inquiries, contact: Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare, Director of Strategic Communications and Public Relations, 416-529-8909, [email protected]