Convicted of the deaths of nine miners during a bitter strike at a Yellowknife gold mine, a former miner has applied for day parole for the first time, despite being eligible since 2010.
RENO (MINEWEB) – A former miner convicted of committing one of Canada’s worst mass murders during one of the most violent mining strikes in the nation’s history is seeking day parole.
Roger Warren, who confessed and was convicted in 1995 of nine counts of second-degree murder in connection to the 1992 bombing at Yellowknife’s Giant Mine, is serving a life sentence.
The September 18, 1992, blast set by Warren exploded when a rail car transporting mining replacement workers hit a trip wire. Between 1948 and 2004, the Giant Mine was a major economic driver for Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories.
Royal Oak bought the Giant Mine in 1990 when the price of gold dropped below mining costs. Then-mining CEO, Margaret Witte, slashed costs and increased production although the union complained that mine safety was comprised. The union went on strike in May 1992 with the strike lasting 18 months.
Warren, a striking miner at the time, said he only intended to frighten replacement workers, bringing mining operations to a halt and ending the 18-month old strike. Miners Vern Fullowka, Norm Hourie, Chris Neil, Joe Pandev, Shane Riggs, Robert Rosewell, Arnold Russell, Malcolm Sawler and Dave Vodnoski died in the explosion.
Their surviving family members sued Pinkerton’s of Canada, which had been hired to protect the property and the miners; as well as the territorial government for not closing the mine due to a dangerous situation. Eight miners’ widows, one miner’s mother and 17 children were directly impacted by the crime.
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