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Labour Minister Linda Jeffrey appreciates the work United Steelworkers has done to uncover the causes of an accident at Vale’s Stobie Mine last year that took the lives of supervisor Jason Chenier, 35, and miner Jordan Fram, 26.
But she won’t be able to comment on the report’s three top recommendations — two of which pertain to her ministry — until the ministry completes its investigation into the June 8, 2011, fatality.
USW has called for the Government of Ontario to establish a public inquiry into the causes of the Stobie deaths, with special attention to water management, monitoring and enforcement issues.
Chenier and Fram died when they were overcome by a run of muck from the No. 7 ore pass while working at the 3,000-foot level of the 111- year-old mine. The union believes excess water contributed to treacherous working conditions, as well as clogged drainage holes and other factors.
The union also wants the Labour ministry to appoint a committee to review whether Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act is protecting workers.
A third recommendation calls for the office of the attorney general to take “immediate steps” to determine if charges should be laid again Vale and some of its officials under the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada.
The USW report into its eight-month investigation of the deaths of Fram and Chenier was released this week. It is more than 200 pages long and makes 165 recommendations to improve mine safety.
Greg Dennis, an aide to Jeffrey, said the minister appreciates the union’s hard work and concern.
“We do have our own
investigation going on and that continues, so we cannot and will not, and it would not be appropriate to get involved in any shape or form,” said Dennis.
The ministry has up to a year to complete its investigation and decide if charges will be laid under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
A report on their investigation will to a senior director and to the ministry’s legal department for review before its findings are released.
If charges are laid under the act, the ministry report will not be made public. If no charges are laid, the ministry may release hazard alerts to the mining industry on trends that should be monitored.
Calls for actions such as public inquiries and an overhaul of the OHSA are probably premature.
“I think we just have to put our focus right now on the investigation we are doing and letting our investigators do the job they are going to do,” said Dennis.
“They will be extremely thorough, they will be extremely detailed, that’s what the families want, of course, and that’s certainly what we want.”
Vale’s separate investigation report, which was presented last month, and the union’s will be reviewed by the ministry during the course of its investigation.
While no official health and safety inquiries or review of the OHSA have been conducted in decades, Dennis said the Liberal government has put measures in place in the last eight years to improve mine safety.
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