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TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015
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Petition calls for public inquiry into mill blasts
Training wheels
Richard Sutherland-Miller, 10, helps out his sister Grace Miller, 4, at the Rotary Skate Park on Monday morning.
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnieben@pgcitizen.ca
A United Steelworkers official is in Prince George this week seeking names for a petition calling for a public inquiry into the Lakeland Mills and Babine Forest Products sawmill blasts.
So far Adam Connell, who hails from Elkford in southeast B.C., has gathered 5,200 names and aims to have 10,000 by the time it’s presented to the provincial legislature this fall.
A coroner’s inquest into the Lakeland disaster, completed May 14, produced 33 recommendations to prevent similar events in the future, and a separate inquest into the Babine incident is set to begin July 13 in Burns Lake.
Twenty-two workers were injured and Glenn Roche, 46, and Alan Little, 43, died from injuries suffered in the April 23, 2012, incident at Lakeland.
Three months earlier, on Jan. 20, 2012, an explosion and fire ripped through Babine Forest Products near Burns Lake, killing Carl Charlie, 42, and his co-worker Robert Luggi, 45, and injuring 20 other workers.
Among Connell’s concerns is whether recommendations from a coroner’s inquest will be acted upon, and he maintained those from a public inquiry would have more teeth. He also said an inquest lacks the power to place blame.
RCMP opted against pursuing criminal charges in both incidents.
Crown counsel turned down a request from WorkSafeBC to pursue four charges under provincial safety law, in part because no warrants were issued rendering some evidence inadmissible in court.
Although it was also noted the mill owners would likely have had a good argument for due diligence.
Lawyer ordered to pay for breach of contract
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
A Smithers lawyer has been ordered to pay a former client $52,260 for breach of contract after he failed to launch a court action for spousal maintenance within the one-year time limit.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale issued the order to Ian Lawson last week following a six-day trial held in Prince George in November.
According to a reasons for judgment, Lawson conceded he owed a duty of care to the client but argued he was only retained to negotiate a resolution to her spousal support and property issues.
He also argued the client never instructed him to bring an action until after the limitation period had ended and that, because she did not have the funds to pay for a hearing, she likely would not have taken the spousal maintenance issue to court.
□ At the very least, the defendant (Ian Lawson) had a duty to warn the plaintiff of the limitation date which any competent family lawyer would have been aware of.
— Justice Ron Tindale
But Tindale found that did not exonerate Lawson from the fact that he failed to protect the interests of his client.
Lawson “is an experienced family lawyer who did not take the appropriate precautions to diarize the one-year limitation,” Tindale said.
“Once the limitation period had expired, the
plaintiff had no leverage to bargain for spousal support and no ability to go to court if a settlement could not be reached.”
Even if the retainer was only to negotiate a settlement, Lawson “cannot stand idly by as the plaintiff’s right to go to court expires.
“At the very least, the defendant (Lawson) had a duty to warn the plaintiff of the limitation date which any competent family lawyer would have been aware of. The defendant did not take the simple steps of filing an application for spousal support or instructing the plaintiff to do this.”
From the evidence received, Tindale found the woman was entitled to the equivalent of $800 per month for seven years, adding up to $67,200, less 20 per cent for income tax, for a total of $53,760 for the breach of contract.
A further $1,000 was added for mental stress while $2,500 was deducted for legal fees.
Different lawyers argued the case on behalf of Lawson and the client.
Among Connell's concerns is whether recommendations from a coroner's inquest will be acted upon, and he maintained those from a public inquiry would have more teeth. He also said an inquest lacks the power to place blame.
WorkSafeBC did issue steep fines against the owners of the sawmills. Lakeland Mills Ltd. was fined $724,163, consisting of a $97,500 administrative penalty and a $626,663 claims cost levy.
The total remains less than the $1.01-million penalty issued against the owners of Babine Forest Products, the highest ever issued by WorkSafeBC.
It consists of a $97,500 administrative penalty and a $914,000 claims cost levy.
Both penalties are being appealed by the sawmills’ respective owners.
The Lakeland inquest jury recommended the onus of proof in cases of criminal negligence involving serious injury and death in the workplace be reviewed after hearing it is very difficult to prosecute such cases.
Connell will be meeting with union officials and workers around the city until Thursday, then traveling out to Burns Lake on Friday, before returning to Prince George on Saturday where he will have a table set up at the farmers’ market.
The petition can also be found online at www.usw.ca/inquiry.
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