Roofer in a hard hat and hi-vis jacket rolling out membrane on a flat commercial roof, wearing a full-body harness with a lanyard tied off to a roof anchor.
Fall Protection

One Fall, Two Convictions: What Alberta's $518,000 Roof-Fall Case Means for Every Employer on the Roof

8 min read

By Riley M.

Short answer: After a worker fell through a roof in Edmonton in December 2023, both the roofing employer and the prime contractor were convicted, with fines totalling $518,000, as listed on November 11, 2026. The roofer failed to protect workers from falling; the prime lacked a system to ensure compliance. Every employer on a roof shares fall-protection duties.

On December 11, 2023, a worker on a roof replacement project in Edmonton fell through the roof to the floor below and was fatally injured. Nearly three years later, two different companies have been convicted for the same fall: the roofing contractor that employed the worker, and the prime contractor responsible for the site. Their combined fines total $518,000.

The lesson is not about one company. A fall through a roof surface is one of the most predictable hazards in construction, and Alberta's courts have now shown that the duty to prevent it doesn't sit with only one employer.

The hazard: falling through the roof, not just off it

Most roof fall planning focuses on the edge. This case is a reminder that a worker can also fall through the work surface: through an opening, a cut or removed section, a skylight, or decking that can't carry a person's weight. Alberta's public record doesn't say exactly how the worker fell through, and we won't guess. What it does say is that the worker was on a roof replacement project and fell through to the level below.

Alberta's OHS Code treats both hazards the same way. Section 139(1) requires an employer and a supervisor to protect a worker from falling at a temporary or permanent work area where the worker may fall 3 metres or more, or fall "through an opening in a work surface."

What happened in court

According to the Government of Alberta's conviction records, as listed on November 11, 2026:

  • The prime contractor (Arbutus Landscaping Inc.) pleaded guilty on August 19, 2026 under section 10(7)(a) of the OHS Act. The conviction was for failing to establish a system or process to ensure compliance with the OHS Act, the regulations and the OHS Code at a work site where workers were working at height, including a system to ensure co-operation between the employer and workers on health and safety. Fine: $318,000, including the 20% victim fine surcharge.
  • The roofing employer (Albatross Roofing Ltd.) pleaded guilty on October 28, 2026 under section 3(1)(a)(i) of the OHS Act, for failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers "by failing to ensure they were protected from falling while working at height." Fine: $200,000, including the victim fine surcharge, plus two years of enhanced regulatory supervision.

All remaining charges against both companies were withdrawn. For context, the same Alberta.ca convictions page states that a first offence under section 48(1) of the OHS Act can carry a fine of up to $500,000 per violation.

It isn't an isolated pattern. Alberta's same conviction list records a 2023 fatality in Fort McMurray in which a worker removing roofing material fell through the roof to the floor below; that employer was fined $210,000 for failing to ensure a travel restraint system was used where the worker could fall 3 metres or more.

Two employers, two different duties

The two convictions are for different failures, and that's the useful part for anyone planning roof work.

The employer doing the work has to make sure its own workers are actually protected from falling. Under the OHS Code, the order of protection is set out in section 139:

  1. A guardrail (139(3)).
  2. If a guardrail isn't reasonably practicable, a travel restraint system (139(5)).
  3. If travel restraint isn't reasonably practicable, a personal fall arrest system (139(6)).
  4. If none of those is reasonably practicable, equally effective controls (139(7)).

Where a worker may fall 3 metres or more and isn't protected by guardrails, section 140 requires the employer to put the procedures in a written fall protection plan that names the fall hazards, the system to be used, the anchors, confirmed clearance below the work area, how the system is assembled, inspected, used and taken down, and the rescue procedure if a worker is left suspended. The plan must be at the site and reviewed with workers before the work starts, and updated when conditions change.

The prime contractor doesn't have to be the one wearing the harness to be responsible. Its conviction was for not having a system to make sure the rules were followed on its site. On a shared roof, that means knowing who is up there, whether their fall protection plan exists and matches the roof, and how the trades and the prime will co-ordinate before anyone steps onto the deck.

A practical pre-roof checklist

For the roofing contractor

  • Walk the roof before work starts and list every place a worker could fall off or through it.
  • Write the fall protection plan for that roof, not a generic template, and review it with the crew on site.
  • Choose the system in the Code's order: guardrails first, then travel restraint, then fall arrest.
  • Confirm anchors and clearance below before anyone ties off.
  • Inspect harnesses, lanyards and connectors before each use, and pull anything damaged out of service.
  • Make sure every worker using the system has been trained on it, and that a rescue plan is ready.

For the prime contractor

  • Ask every trade working at height for its fall protection plan before it starts, and check it against the actual roof.
  • Decide who is responsible for covering, marking or guarding openings as the roof is stripped and rebuilt.
  • Set up a way for workers and employers to raise fall hazards, and act on what they raise.
  • Check the work while it's happening, not only on paper.

Keyline Safety's stand

Fall protection is a site-wide system, not one worker's harness. A harness only works when it's part of a plan: the right anchor, enough clearance, a trained worker and a rescue procedure. When the plan is missing, the best harness on the market won't make up for it.

We also think "the edge" is too narrow a way to look at a roof. During tear-offs and replacements, the surface itself changes by the hour. Every employer on that roof, from the prime contractor to the trade, shares the job of planning for it, equipping for it and checking that it's being done.

What Keyline Safety does

Keyline Safety supplies the personal fall protection equipment that goes into a fall protection plan, from brands our customers already know:

3M Protecta Comfort Construction-Style full-body harness 1161205C with padded shoulders, belt and positioning D-rings

Browse the full range in our safety harnesses and fall protection equipment collections. Choose equipment to match your fall protection plan and follow the manufacturer's instructions for fit, inspection and use.

Not sure which harness or connector fits the work on your roof? Contact Keyline Safety and tell us about the job.

Frequently asked questions

Who was convicted in the Alberta roof-fall case?

As listed on November 11, 2026, Albatross Roofing Ltd. (the employer) and Arbutus Landscaping Inc. (the prime contractor) both pleaded guilty, with fines of $200,000 and $318,000.

At what height is fall protection required in Alberta?

Section 139 of the OHS Code requires fall protection where a worker may fall 3 metres or more, or fall through an opening in a work surface.

What order of fall protection does Alberta's OHS Code require?

Guardrails first, then travel restraint if guardrails aren't reasonably practicable, then personal fall arrest, then equally effective controls.

When does Alberta require a written fall protection plan?

Under section 140, where a worker may fall 3 metres or more and isn't protected by guardrails. The plan must be on site and reviewed with workers before work starts.

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