The families most affected by the Babine Forest Products mill explosion are not satisfied with the provincial prosecutor's decision to not lay charges.
"This should be a wake-up call to the Lakeland families [Lakeland Mills exploded in similar fatal fashion only three months after Babine's incident in 2012] and for every employee who goes to work in B.C.," said Maureen Luggi. Her husband Robert was one of the two people killed in the Babine blast on Jan. 20, 2012.
The Crown prosecutor's office issued a statement this week concluding that the WorkSafeBC investigation used flawed methodology, rendering significant aspects of their information package likely inadmissible in court, but also that the evidence suggested in strong fashion that the owners of Babine (a partnership between Hampton Affiliates of Oregon and Burns Lake Native Development Corporation) had shown due diligence in keeping the mill workers safe.
"It's a pretty common sense fear" that the Lakeland decision would be the same, said Luggi, since the WorkSafeBC methodology was presumably the same for both mills. "I just pray that the Lakeland families won't have to go through what we are going through. It is a concern that should be on the hearts and minds of every British Columbian."
She heard that the opposition NDP called for the government to appoint an independent review team to give a second opinion on possible prosecution, calling the investigation to date "bungled."
Luggi said "we would be all for it. People don't just go to work and end up dying or being seriously hurt and leave their families to deal with the consequences."
The other fatality in the Babine blast was Carl Charlie. A designated spokesperson from his family, Lucy Campbell, said "our families have observed Babine Forest Products rebuilding the sawmill and have supported these efforts. It has been a blow to our families that our desire for justice has been denied through the British Columbia courts. It was critical to our families that any negligence be uncovered and someone is held accountable for the deaths of [Luggi and Charlie]. We also acknowledge the critical injuries suffered by the other 20 employees that night. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors and their families as they continue to rebuild their lives."
WorkSafeBC contended immediately following the Crown decision that their methodology was robust up to 2011, citing the mushroom farm fatalities case in 2011 as their latest success under their traditional investigative practices.
Whether the fault lies with WorkSafeBC or Crown, said the two families, the fact a sawmill exploded proves the working conditions were irrefutably unsafe. They are waiting for the public release of the investigative documents and will consult with legal counsel on their future options.
"We need to stay on this journey of our own healing, recovering from the grief and loss of our loved ones," said Luggi. "Regardless of the outcome of the Crown counsel decision, it didn't change anything for us. We are still dealing with the emotional stress of losing Carl and Robert. We stood by and waited for these agencies to get us justice but there is no justice in this for anyone. Receiving that announcement hurt us very deeply. Processing the loss of our loved ones was the most painful part, and we will be able to move forward out of this, but there still needs to be accountability."
The public is invited to attend a celebration of Luggi's and Charlie's lives on Jan. 20, the second anniversary of the Babine blast. The event happens at noon at the new Wet'suwet'en First Nation community hall (on Tom Drive, Palling, a few minutes west of Burns Lake) with Father Tom officiating.
