A new scholarship is in the works to honour the memory of a Hamilton man who died earlier this year as he was removing snow off a pier while on the job.

The scholarship will honour Justin Smith, 29, and his legacy of mentoring younger workers.  

Smith was a steel supervisor at Ontario Shipyards’ Hamilton site. He died on Jan. 26 after he fell off Pier 14 into Hamilton Harbour, Hamilton police said at the time. He was removing snow near the end of the dock when “a piece of equipment entered the water,” said police.

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is investigating Smith’s death, a spokesperson told CBC Hamilton Friday.

According to his obituary, Smith was a father of two and the eldest of three brothers. He worked at Ontario Shipyards for nearly a decade. 

Shaun Padulo, CEO of the shipbuilding company, said in an interview this week he and Smith started working there around the same time and would talk a lot. Padulo said he also spent time with Smith and his boys outside of work.

Smith was ‘natural leader and mentor,’ says mother

“Justin was a really good friend,” Padulo told CBC Hamilton, his voice breaking. “He did a lot for the young steel people coming in.”

Padulo recalled that after one of his first town hall meetings at the company, Smith was the first person to step up and offer feedback — a trend that would continue. He said the two would discuss how to get younger hires more skilled. 

Padulo spoke at Smith’s funeral, he said, sharing how they discussed Smith going back to school, and taking on a leadership role training new workers as the company works to expand its shipbuilding. 

Afterward, Smith’s mother Barbara got in touch and the pair discussed creating a scholarship in Smith’s name.

On Wednesday, Padulo signed agreements with Hamilton’s Mohawk College and South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean to build a new learning hub at Ontario Shipyards. The plan is to train students in the skills they’ll need to work in the marine industry. 

At a news conference, he shared that he had committed to Barbara that Ontario Shipyards will set up the new scholarship at Mohawk College.

“As our partnership with Mohawk College in Hanwha grows, there will be other ways that we honour Justin because one of his most important contributions in life and one of his legacies was the way he trained and mentored our people. He believed in the next generation and he lived it every day,” he said.

“It was very important to me to see his legacy continue in this way.– Barbara Smith

“I am deeply grateful and excited to see what Shaun creates in Justin’s honour, something that both I and his boys can continue to be proud of, knowing that Justin’s impact lives on,” Barbara told CBC Hamilton in an email. 

She said her son was a “natural leader and mentor, particularly to his female colleagues in what is often a male-dominated industry.”

He “truly loved” his job, she said and did his best to support people who wanted to learn. Smith had been mentored, she said, and believed in giving others the same opportunity.  

“It was very important to me to see his legacy continue in this way, and to help others, through his name, who may have been guided and inspired by his passion,” Smith said.

Mohawk, Ontario Shipyards, family working together

Padulo said he and Barbara are still working out the scholarship details, and that he wants to let her take the lead on deciding who it will be for.

Mohawk College spokesperson Sean Coffey told CBC that when the time comes, the college’s advancement team will work with Ontario Shipyards to sort it out. 

As of publication, a fundraiser set up by a family friend has collected about $45,000 for a trust for Smith’s sons.