More than three years after a block of ice fell and killed construction worker Olivier Bruneau at an Ottawa condo site, Claridge Homes and Bellai Brothers Construction Inc. have pleaded guilty to charges related to his death.

Bruneau, a 24-year-old assistant layout carpenter, was working at the bottom of a nine-storey-deep pit at the Claridge Icon condo site in Little Italy in March 2016 when he was crushed by a 56-kilogram chunk of ice.

One year later, Ontario's Ministry of Labour charged Claridge Homes, subcontractor Bellai Brothers Construction Ltd. and two site supervisors under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Each defendant pleaded guilty Thursday to "failing to ensure a wall of an excavation was stripped of loose rock or other material that may slide, roll or fall upon a worker."

The Crown withdrew the additional charge of "failing to protect a worker from the hazard of falling ice" laid against all the defendants.

Claridge and Bellai Brothers were each fined $325,000. Bellai jobsite supervisor Leo Simard was fined $15,000 and Claridge supervisor Michael Lwow as fined $12,500.

This photo of the Little Italy work site was found in Olivier Bruneau's phone. It was taken a few weeks before his death. (Supplied)

Companies knew about ice hazard

The Icon excavation site was one of the deepest in Canada at the time, Crown attorney Daniel Kleiman said.

In cold months, ice would form along the south wall of the excavation, along Carling Avenue, according to an agreed statement of facts. Pieces would occasionally fall without warning.

Taggart Construction, which was contracted to perform the initial excavation, refused to return to the site because falling ice posed a danger to the company's workers.

The companies tried different ways to get rid of the ice, including power washing it with hot water and using an excavator to try to chip it away, but they were largely unsuccessful.

A safety representative for Bellai Brothers was struck on the back by falling ice from the south wall, though he wasn't seriously injured.

Pietro Ballai, president of Ballai Brothers, read a statement outside the Ottawa courthouse after pleading guilty Thursday. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

Considered closing site

Claridge considered closing the site until the weather was warm enough to melt the ice, but decided instead to limit construction to areas considered a safe distance from the ice wall.

Bellai Brothers briefly pulled its team from the site, but ultimately decided to return to the job.

"We believed our approach was the right one on this job site," Pietro Bellai, the president of Bellai Brothers, told the court Thursday.

"We now know it was not."

Bellai apologized to Bruneau's family, and said the company has taken steps to improve safety at open excavation sites. The company now has job sites certified for safety before workers are allowed to enter.

Claridge also apologized to Bruneau's family through its lawyer, Michael Edelson.

"By pleading guilty, Claridge is acknowledging that it should have done better," Edelson told the court. "Moving forward, Claridge pledges it will do better to ensure than an accident like this on a Claridge job site never happens again."

Olivier Bruneau's parents, Nicole Lapointe and Christian Bruneau, stand outside the Ottawa courthouse after Claridge and Ballai Brothers pleaded guilty to charges related to their son's death. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

Coronor's inquest to come

Bruneau's family described the trial as just the first step in getting closure.

The guilty pleas now clear the way for a coroner's inquest, and the family can now obtain the Ministry of Labour's investigation report.

Bruneau's sister, Valarie, told the court the family has been "broken" since he was killed. They've also become staunch advocates for worker safety.

"If no one is willing to stand up, the killing of workers will continue," Bruneau's father, Christian, said in his victim impact statement.

As for the changes the companies are promising, Christian Bruneau said it's already too late for his son.

A similar incident at the Claridge Icon site, in which a worker suffered non-fatal head injuries in a 2018 fall, led to more charges against Bellai earlier this month.

Construction on the Icon Tower continues.