The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
A coroner’s jury went beyond the eight recommendations jointly submitted at an inquest into the deaths of two men at Vale’s Stobie Mine and added 16 of its own to improve mine safety in Sudbury, in Ontario and throughout Canada.
The three-woman, one-man jury accepted eight recommendations suggested and agreed upon by Vale, United Steelworkers Local 6500, the Ministry of Labour and the families of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram.
The first recommendation was that the Ministry of Labour implement the recommendations of the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review regarding water management in mines and the internal responsibility system.
The review was struck in December 2013 in response to pressure by families and mine workers for an inquiry into mine safety after the Sudbury men’s deaths. Chenier, 35, and Fram, 26, were killed when a run of muck overcame them while they were working at the 3,000-foot level near the No. 7 ore pass.
The two-week inquest came almost four years after the tragedy — after the completion of three separate investigations and the implementation at Vale of 42 safety improvements made as a result of those investigations.
Briana Fram is Jordan Fram’s sister. She attended the inquest every day along with her parents, Wendy and Brian Fram, and her brother Jesse. Tracy Chenier, the widow of Jason Chenier and mother of their two children, and other family members also attended.
Fram spoke for her family Thursday at the Sudbury Courthouse, saying they were happy with the outcome.
“We feel everything was covered and we’re proud of the work the jury did along with our stand-ins and the Ministry of Labour,” said Fram of the jury.
Her family was feeling overwhelmed though.
“It feels as if is now, the doors are now closed, and it’s an overwhelming feeling because … everything’s over. We now move on as a family and grieve again, once again,” she said.
The inquest was difficult because her family had to relive details of the accident and hear for the first time what occurred in the last moments of her brother’s life.
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