Contracted company to pay over $200K after Stelco Nanticoke deaths

A Cayuga courtroom was filled with the friends and family members of two men, who died after sustaining extreme burns at Stelco’s Nanticoke plant in 2023.

All the charges against Stelco were dropped Monday, but the contracted company that the men worked for pled guilty to failing to protect its workers, and was fine over $200,000.

The court heard that 32-year-old Gabriel Cabral and 56-year-old Sean MacPherson were stuck in a boom lift at Stelco Nanticoke, when a procedure that cools coke material used by Stelco began.

The process creates hot steam and the men were nearby on the lift.

The men suffered horrific burns, with Cabral dying in hospital a few weeks later in May 2023.

Two men who were passionate with their families

Cabral’s mother Pam Fraser described her son as, “the wonderful person he was and how he had – he had passion for everything.”

“For life and nature, fishing…you can tell he was very missed by the amount of people that are here,” she said.

Cabral’s girlfriend Sarah Zarek echoed in describing his character saying, “he would give the shirt off his back – he was an amazing person and definitely didn’t deserve this.”

MacPherson died a few months later in November.

Samantha Ruddick, MacPherson’s niece, said that her uncle was very active in her and her cousins lives. “A great grandpa like my cousin said, he would have shown off his grandson to the world,” she said.

Agreed statements of fact heard at the courthouse

In an agreed statement of fact, the court heard that the men were alerted that the dangerous process was going to start – as were their co-workers on the ground – but their lift did not move from its spot.

The company the men worked for is called John Kenyon Ltd., a siding company contracted by Stelco to do a job at the plant.

At the court Monday, Kenyon Ltd. pled guilty to failing to protect the workers – an admission that this was a preventable tragedy and not an accident.

The company was ordered to pay a $225,000 fine and an additional 25 per cent surcharge – a fine that the judge said in court “is not meant to represent the value of the lives lost.”

Still, family and friends of the victims are not happy with the outcome and they believe Stelco should be held accountable as well.

Cabral’s father Gabriel Cabral Sr., says he does not understand why charges against Stelco were withdrawn.

“I did the job myself and I know it’s very unsafe and if there are not serious changes made, someone else will be hurt again,” he said.

WATCH MORE: Gabriel Cabral’s mother calls for accountability after Stelco Nanticoke death