Company run by N.S. contractor fined $17K in Ontario engineering case

A company run by a Nova Scotia contractor who has been embroiled in multiple legal cases in recent years has been fined $17,500 by an Ontario judge for illegally using a copy of an engineer's seal on designs for a home rebuild project that went off the rails.

Standard Paving Ltd., whose sole director is listed as Shane Ross, was sentenced last week in the Ontario Court of Justice in Kingston on one count under the Professional Engineers Act, according to the regulator Professional Engineers Ontario.

Ross was profiled two years ago in a CBC story. Over the years, the 42-year-old has been accused of fraud and forgery, his companies have been fired from numerous construction jobs in Nova Scotia and Ontario, and he's been involved in legal actions with more than 30 contractors, property owners, towns and a Halifax university.

The Ontario engineering case relates to Brooke and Phil Crawford of Clarendon Station, Ont. The couple paid Ross, who lived in Lake Echo, N.S., at the time but often worked in Ontario, nearly $140,000 in insurance money to rebuild their home after a 2019 fire.

'Almost unbelievable'

The Crawfords later launched a civil lawsuit. The judge in that case found that little work was done, and called the "audacity" of Ross's deception "almost unbelievable."

Ross was subsequently sentenced to 90 days in jail for contempt of court. The Crawfords were eventually repaid their money. Another $300,000 in damages and costs was paid through a lawyer for Ross's parents.

The engineering case involves design plans submitted by Standard Paving to the local township as part of an application for a permit to rebuild the Crawford home.

According to an agreed statement of facts, the plans bore the seal and signature of engineer Frank Anrep, along with his purported email address and phone number.

However, Anrep was never involved in the project, did not sign or add his seal to the plans, and the contact information provided was not his, according to the facts submitted in court.

Injured workers

Ross has faced other recent legal issues.

Last month, Culloden Properties, a company managed by Ross, was hit with more than $20,000 in penalties related to the collapse of a pumpjack scaffolding unit at a Dartmouth work site in January 2022.

One worker who was installing siding fell five metres, suffering a traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, liver, spleen and kidney lacerations, and multiple rib fractures. A second worker also fell and was taken to hospital.

Culloden Properties pleaded guilty to three counts under the provincial Workplace Health and Safety Regulations. The pumpjack wasn't properly installed, according to a statement of facts, and the workers didn't have up-to-date fall-protection training.

The company was also ordered to do five safety presentations that would include the circumstances of what happened and what Culloden Properties has done to improve safety at its work sites.

Ross is also currently on probation, after being sentenced last year to three months of house arrest following a conviction for using forged documents in a case involving the Halifax Regional Municipality.

He and his companies are currently forbidden from bidding on any contracts with the municipality.