More than two years have passed since an explosion at Babine Lake sawmill in Burns Lake killed two workers and injured 20 others. Just three months later, on April 23, 2012, an explosion at the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George killed another two workers and injured 22 more. Since then workers and families are left wondering why so little has been done by the provincial agencies responsible to improve the health and safety of workers in BC mills.
Worksafe BC recently released its findings into the Babine Lake explosion. Its primary conclusion, these deaths were preventable. Knowing this, its unfathomable that at no time did Worksafe BC, the Criminal Justice Branch, or the RCMP make any serious efforts to determine if criminal negligence occurred. This despite legislation passed unanimously by our Parliament just a decade ago that amended the Criminal Code to ensure employers who willfully fail to protect the safety and lives of workers they employ could be found criminally liable for negligence. These changes were a response to the horrible coalmine explosion at Westray Mines in 1992 that killed 26 people. It was hoped the law would prevent similar deaths from occurring elsewhere in Canada.
To date this legislation has never been applied in BC. No criminal charges were laid following the death of millworker Lyle Hewer despite recommendations from the local police or even following a successful private prosecution by the United Steelworkers. No criminal charges were laid following the death of farmworkers transported in shoddy, unmaintained passenger vans. No criminal charges were laid following the death of Sam Fitzpatrick, killed while clearing rock for a hydro project at Toba Inlet, despite raising safety concerns with his employer. No criminal charges were laid against the owners of a mushroom farm, after the boss ordered workers into what would be no less than deadly conditions. Today no criminal charges have been laid in either of the recent sawmill explosions.
The pattern is very clear when it comes to workplace deaths and serious injuries, employers are given the benefit of the doubt, while workers are discouraged from complaining. Why? In short, its because workplace injuries and fatalities have become an acceptable cost of doing business for too many employers and the provincial safety and prosecutorial agencies responsible for holding them to account. Over and over again corporations appeal for the right to be treated as citizens, then the same companies silence that tune when it comes to workplace fatalities. First corporations are too big to fail--now theyre too big to jail.
In the case of Babine Lake, and the same appears to be true regarding Lakeland, instead of any charges being laid, criminal or regulatory, all we see is inter-agency finger pointing, and no serious commitment to change. Can workers be confident a similar explosion wont happen again, no. Can workers and their families have any confidence that organizations responsible for health and safety are doing their utmost to save lives? Not if they read Worksafe BCs own report or a recent review by the Deputy Minister to the Premier? Neither report questions whether Worksafe BC did enough to prevent these deaths, or why they did not even consider criminal charges.
While now promising to establish a protocol between police, safety agencies and crown counsel--something United Steelworkers have called for well before these deaths-- is a helpful step. But its far short of the cultural change that needs to take place to prevent worker deaths. Imagine if impaired driving or domestic violence were treated in the same manner as worker deaths. Just as these crimes are unacceptable to society, so too is the killing of workers. Just as criminal charges are a known deterrent factor in the former, they can have the same value in preventing workplace killings.
Condolences will never be enough for anyone who has lost a family member. Even more so knowing these deaths and life changing injuries were no accident. Our solution is simple--if we want to stop the killing we must enforce the law.
Stephen Hunt
Director, Western Canada, United Steelworkers,
The United Steelworkers represents the workers at both Babine and Lakeland sawmills.
