VANCOUVER – As the second Coroner’s Inquest into deadly sawmill explosions concludes, the BC Federation of Labour is reaffirming its call for a full and independent public inquiry into the Lakeland and Babine sawmill explosions.
BC Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger stated that, “While the Inquest jury has supported some effective recommendations, there is no mechanism in place to enforce the recommendations. As a result, the families of those workers who were injured or lost their lives remain without effective justice.”
As Lanzinger explained, “the Jury’s recommendations reinforce the need for the government to finally take action on these demands. However, the mandate of the Coroner’s Inquest, as a strictly fact-finding process, is too restrictive to achieve an unfettered examination of the systemic issues that became obvious throughout the course of the two Inquests. The recommendations, although comprehensive, are voluntary and do not have the teeth to ensure any of the necessary changes, or hold the employers, the government, or other organizations and agencies, such as the Workers’ Compensation Board, accountable.”
Lanzinger went on to say, “The families deserve answers, the workers deserve answers, and the public deserves the assurance that tragedies like these will never happen again and that those employers and organizations responsible for worker health and safety will be held accountable.”