The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
For the full report: Run of “Wet Muck” Double Fatality Investigation Report by USW Local 6500
Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci says it may be premature to call for a public inquiry into the deaths of two Sudbury miners before the Ministry of Labour completes its investigation of the fatality and a mandatory coroner’s inquest is held.
Bartolucci said he is looking forward to reading the USW report and its recommendations. “Listen, just like Vale’s recommendations, I want to read and study the Steelworkers’ recommendations.
“At the end of the day, we don’t want anybody dying” at work, said Bartolucci. “Two families lost loved ones. That’s serious. And we have to do what we have to do to ensure we take every possible precaution to ensure that that doesn’t happen again.”
Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram were killed June 8, 2011, by a run of muck at Vale’s Stobie Mine.
New Democrat MPPs France Gelinas and Michael Mantha are calling for a public inquiry and for the Attorney General’s office to consider criminal charges against Vale and its staff.
The MPPs raised the issue in Question Period in the Ontario Legislature.
Al g oma -Mani t o u l in’s Mantha asked if the premier was going to “direct the Minister of Labour to conduct a full public investigation into the causes of the fatalities, so tragedies like this one won’t happen again to any family?”
Gélinas said: “We wanted to know if a full public investigation was going to take place; we got no answer.
“Will the premier, on behalf of Jordan Fram’s mother and sister who are here with us today, on behalf of Jason Chenier’s widow and family, ask the Attorney General and his assistant deputy Attorney General responsible for criminal law to lay charges under the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code?” asked Gelinas.
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