New, more precise charges of criminal negligence and manslaughter have been laid against Curragh (TSE) and two former managers of the Westray coal mine in Nova Scotia.
The latest charges were filed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police just days after a provincial court judge dropped earlier charges, calling them “too vague.”
Meanwhile, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has joined the United Steelworkers of America in a renewed call for a public inquiry into the disaster.
“The process of rebuilding our community will not happen until the truth is revealed,” said CLC Secretary-Treasurer Richard Martin.
The case has been simmering since May 9, 1992, when an explosion at the coal mine killed 26 miners. Curragh, as well as former mine manager Gerald Phillips and former underground manager Roger Parry, has been implicated in the fatal disaster.
The new criminal negligence charges provide a detailed account of how the company, Phillips and Parry are alleged to have shown “wanton or reckless disregard for the lives and safety of other persons in the operation of the coal mine.”
The Crown prosecutors allege that Phillips, Parry and the company are directly responsible for specific oversights that led to the disaster, including: unsafe equipment, improper monitoring devices, inadequate employee training and unsafe roof conditions.
The new manslaughter charges allege that Phillips and Parry caused the deaths by violating the provincial Coal Mines Regulation Act, which requires that coal dust be cleared or watered down to prevent explosions.
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