Ignorance is no defence under the law, nor is it a defence for not knowing how the money collected by the fund established to help the Lakeland Mills workers was going to be handed out.
The Citizen published several stories explaining the lengthy process involved in administering the fund and dispensing the proceeds in the weeks after the April 23 explosion that destroyed the Prince George sawmill and killed two men.
In the days and weeks after the tragedy, everyone wanted to help and a variety of fundraisers were arranged to generate money for the fund, managed by the Prince George Community Foundatiion. So far, more than $400,000 is sitting in that fund.
The Citizen's stories about the Lakeland fund also compared it to the fund set up in the wake of January's deadly explosion at the Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake. That fund was set up and managed by a handful of concerned local residents, without any supervision from a registered non-profit charity and with no initial direction of how the funds would be dispersed.
Later, the $400,000 in the Burns Lake Tragedy Fund was handed out based on the following criteria, in order of priority: injured workers, workers on shift the night of the disaster, workers employed by Babine Forest Products, other workers and employees of mill subcontractors, and community members who have become unemployed due to the spin-off economic effects of loss of the mill.
In other words, anyone in the community, not just Babine staff, could apply for proceeds from the fund.
That's one of three major differences between the Burns Lake fund and the Lakeland fund, which is only available to the 150 Lakeland Mills employees.
The second difference is that the proceeds from the Lakeland fund will be handed out based on financial need, working from a questionnaire and an application filled out by former Lakeland employees. Only those who apply for funding will be considered.
The application form asks questions such as were you injured in the incident, were you on shift the night of the fire and explosion, are you currently unemployed as a result, have you been offered work and turned it down, have you received other money since the fire, how many family members do you have, and how would you use the proceeds.
Those are fair questions to ask when trying to assess need.
All levels of government follow the same procedure when it comes to awarding grants in the arts and social service agencies.
In those situations, the identify of the recipients and how much they receive is public knowledge because the recipients are organizations, not private citizens. Government has to disclose what it gave to arts groups but it does not - nor should it - disclose what a single mom with a disabled child receives in support.
This leads to the last major difference between the Burns Lake fund and the Lakeland fund. Some of the recipients and how much they received has been made public and the Citizen has published stories about it. The Lakeland fund recipients and the amount they receive will be done confidentially.
While at least one Lakeland employee doesn't trust the process, his solution of just handing out the money equally makes no sense in the real world. Tough decisions are made all the time about who needs more help and how much help to give them. This situation is no different.
The individuals who came forward to create the fund administered by the community foundation should remain private. It would be unfair of them to be pressured by Lakeland employees and by the community at large to dispense the funds in a certain way to certain individuals.
These people may be working in the shadows but they have made several decisions that show their intentions are noble. They have spoken only to the employees, not the public, about the process. They are moving slowly and carefully, first with a questionnaire and now with a formal application, to make sure the right Lakeland employees get the right amount of money. They respect the privacy of Lakeland employees during this difficult time. Neither they nor the community foundation will benefit from any of the donations.
Whoever these individuals are, they deserve are thanks for taking on a thankless role that requires wisdom and patience.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
