Mining deaths criminal trial '1st' in Canada, law expert says

The fatal accidentatMtanorResources's Bachelor Lake mine seven years ago was the worst workplace accident in Quebec in the last 35 years.

And the prosecution of acompany charged with criminal negligence causing death has gone to trial for the first time in Canadian history, said an expert in criminal negligence and liability.

Mtanoris on trialin the drowning deaths of minersDomenicoBollini, BrunoGouletand MarcGuay, who descended in an elevator to the lowest level of the mine shaft and were submerged.

• Mtanorblamed for Quebec miners' deaths

"It's extremely rare" to see companies face criminal charges because of workplace accidents, said JenniferQuaid, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa's law faculty.

Quaidsaid thecase is a firstbecause thecompany has chosen to go to trial instead of pleading guilty.

Crown prosecutor Marc-AndrRoy hascalled more than 20 witnesses since the trial began in September.

MtanorResources did not present any witnessesor its own evidence. Closing arguments are scheduled for next year.

Criminal liability for corporations

The mining company, which was operating inDesmaraisville, about 600 kilometres north of Montreal, was charged with criminal negligence causing death last March.

Quaidtold CBC News the case is important "symbolically" and could also lead to raising safety awareness in the industry.

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• Mtanorblamed for Quebec miners' deaths

"We call this kind of conduct out because we think there's something wrong with it," saidQuaid."But making people pay money or firing a few symbolic people may not be a solution to the problem."

Quaidsaid the most useful aspect of a criminal prosecution going to trial is the ability for a judge to lay out rules and demands on companies to avoid any future accidents, if a company is found guilty.

'Serious and multiple' gaps in workplace safety

Bollini,GouletandGuaywere experienced miners whenthey descended in the elevatortothe lowest level of the mine shaft in October 2009.

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Both the miners and Mtanorhad no idea that level of the minehad been filling with water for the previous nine daysbecause of a missing bolt in the pumping system nor that the alarm system which was supposed to warn them about a rise in water levels had been unplugged.

MarioSt-Pierre, the engineer who prepared the province's workplace health and safety board report (known by its French acronym, CNESST), said "there were three main causes" of the accident.

One of the causes was human error, however,St-Pierre said Quebec's workplace law can holdan employer responsible for the behaviour of its employees.

MtanorResources contested the board'sfine of $15,000.

In 2013, Court of Quebec JudgeJuanitaWestmoreland-Traorfound the company guilty of violating workplace laws, citing "serious and multiple"gaps in the safety system at the Bachelor Lake mine.

WestrayLaw

MtanorResources is being prosecuted under a fairly new section of the Criminal Code often referred to as the WestrayLaw.

The 2004 amendment extended liability for criminal negligence in the workplace, stemmingfrom the deadly Westray Mine explosion in Plymouth,N.S.,which killed 26miners in 1992.

• Westrayremembered: explosion killed 26 N.S. coal miners in 1992

Quaidsaid taking a corporation to court on a criminal chargerequires a completely differentapproach when it comes to analyzing evidence.

"If you're going to bring a serious case against a company, you have to look at what was the decision-making process, how much knowledge there is about the failure rate of the technology, and if there should be a redundant safety system in place," saidQuaid.

Quaidsaid to establish guilt, a judge has to find a company has acted, or failed to act in a way that's consistent with safety norms of similar companies.

"It's a comparison between what the accused did, and what a reasonable person in the circumstances would have done," saidQuaid.