A crane operator at Ivaco Rolling Mills is dead after reportedly falling at the L’Orignal steel mill.
According to separate Facebook posts and confirmed by the United Steel Workers union which represents the workers at Ivaco, and Ivaco President Stéphane Oehrli, an employee of Ivaco was seriously injured on the job on Sunday, July 7.
Christopher Derouin, 47, a billet crane operator at Ivaco since 2007, was taken to the Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus after reportedly falling from his crane, where he was placed into an induced coma, according to coworkers and family. Derouin was kept in an induced coma for several days before he died of his injuries on Saturday, July 13.
A representative of the USW union referred all questions to Ivaco.
Sent through a representative of Ivaco’s privately help American parent company Heico, Oehrli confirmed the death of Derouin and stated he would not be commenting further on the matter out of respect for the family and the ongoing investigation.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague following a workplace accident at Ivaco Rolling Mills on Sunday, July 7,” read the email response attributed to Oehrli. “Our thoughts are with the family during this unimaginable time. IRM is providing ongoing mental health support to its employees and collaborating with the authorities to investigate this tragedy.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to support Derouin’s family. Set up on July 10, the fundraiser has accumulated over 120 donations and raised $14,860 worth of its $17,000 goal.
Heico Companies confirmed this is the first death at the facility since they acquired Ivaco in 2004, adding that, though they do not have all the records, they ‘‘do not have any trace of fatalities’’ before acquisition.
Heico also confirmed that the company was cooperating with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills, responsible for investigating workplace injuries and deaths.
The Hawkesbury detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police was unable to confirm whether or not their was an ongoing investigation on their behalf.
