Teegee Calls Denial of Charges, Inquiry Into Mill Explosion Unacceptable
Prince George, B.C. – The head of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council is highly critical of the B.C. government’s handling of the follow-up to the fatal explosion at the Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake two years ago.
42-year-old Carl Charlie and 45-year-old Robert Luggi Jr. were killed and 20 co-workers were injured when the mill
In Victoria on Thursday, as some of the injured workers and family members made an impassioned plea for a public inquiry into the disaster, Premier Christy Clark announced in the legislature that there would be no public inquiry; that the government has looked into the WorkSafe probe and is making changes right away. The government website release on Premier Clark’s decision not to hold a public inquiry into the Babine disaster was posted on Thursday but could not be found on Friday, although other releases posted Thursday remain.
CSTC Chief Terry Teegee says “we’ve sent a letter to the premier and had some correspondence with her and we’re quite disappointed. One of our members, Robert Luggi, Junior from Stellat’en, died and then Carl Charlie from Lake Babine and then there’s two more in Prince George (Lakeland mill explosion). It’s disappointing that they won’t proceed with some sort of charges and also, having no public inquiry. Having no answers for the families and for the public is quite disappointing.”
Teegee says “something happened in terms of negligence and the company should be held accountable, and one of the other things that should come out of this is to prevent this from happening again. I think you would see some sort of public inquiry if, you know back east there was one of those underground mines that caved in and they had a public inquiry. (He refers to the Westray mine in Nova Scotia in which 26 miners were killed in an underground explosion in May, 1992.) At least there, there was some sort of level of accountability.”
Teegee believes “it sends a bad message to industry out there that you can get away with it. I don’t think that’s acceptable to the families of those who died or to the public. The public should have some confidence in this industry that this won’t happen again, and that’s what we’re trying to assist these families with. I don’t know how these families can proceed, whether with a civil court case or find some other level of justice or accountability with these companies because it seems to me that they can get away with it.”
Teegee says besides the letter to the premier other steps are being taken to keep the pressure applied in hopes of getting a public inquiry. “The wife of Robert Luggi Jr has put petitions out. I think for the general public, sign the petitions, write your MLA, write your MP. I don’t know what we have to do to keep this government and these companies accountable.”
“You know there’s so many unanswered questions in terms of when this accident happened and subsequent to that how they came to the decision to rebuild. During that time there was no answers for the families on if they were going to file charges. Whether that influenced the company to rebuild I don’t know. I’m pretty, call me suspicious, skeptical about the decision to rebuild or not rebuild and why the government won’t lay charges. But at any rate I think these companies need to be held accountable just like any other company across this country. And for the families and the public there needs to be some level of justice.”
Comments
Teegee must be up for reelection soon
Unlike your post, there is considerably more substance to his request.
Yes, the substance is to get his name top of mind again.
I’m wondering if that is your idea as well with your previous misguided comments referring to the private sector businesses have no regard to safety
It is obvious that your experience come from the rarified world of academia
Who are they going to find negligent? The company who just built a brand spanking new mill? Worksafe? The Safety committee? Joe cleanup worker? Carefull what you wish for Teegee. Maybe an inquiry will find someone was sneaking a smoke!
Teegee’s point on sending a message to business is right on the money. Having 2 mill explosions in the dominant industry here in the interior and no inquiry sends exactly that message. For all the workers and families that remain working in these facilities every avenue of knowledge should be pursued. All of us living in the Interior are personally affected by these tragedies. Without knowledge we sit and wait as we, our loved ones, our friends go back to these factories everyday hoping ours won’t be the next one.
Criticizing Teegee for seeking truth because some of you think as a side bonus in doing his job he will gain personally as a politician? Seems there is an underlying tone here from some of you commenters. I should hope he seeks truth, isn’t that what we want ALL our politicians to use their office and position to do, seek the truth on behalf of those who they represent? If Teegee gains politically for doing his job, isn’t that why we re-elect them? In this case Teegee is seeking truth on behalf of all of us.
Good post Taxed Out, I don’t disagree with you. It could be that the public has heard the word “inquiry” come from Mr. TeeGee so often. For example, the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council does not accept any responsibility for its members hitch hiking on a dangerous hi-way yet demand an inquiry.
Here is the deal! Sawmills knew dust is explosive before any sawmills blew up! Every Sawmill that trained their employees to fire fight, those employees know dust can explode. Fire training has been going on at sawmills and pulp mills for many years. What will an enquiry prove? That production comes before safety? We all know that management will say safety first at safety meetings but that isn’t the case if a machine is down. Safety procedures at some sawmills is there to place blame, do your due diligence and look out for one another else you will be blamed for the incident. Management and managers have one on ones and safety audits to cover their butts. In the end the employee gets the blame not the company.
So an audit proves negligence! In the end it’s the people on the floor that must make sure the working conditions are safe!
So, when a murder investigation by the RCMP is deemed to be botched by the crown and no charges are laid, the RCMP do the investigation over until they get it right and charges can proceed.
I guess when Worksafe BC botches an investigation where death is involved. They only get one kick at the can?
Why is it that the two investigations, (Babine and Lakeland) seem to have been carried out/reported to the public in different ways?
Why is it that the Babine explosion Worksafe report was only partially released at first and that we had to wait so long for the Liberal govt to release the rest? The part where we learned that Worksafe BC was so utterly incompetent at their job that no charges could be laid?
Why was the Lakeland report released in its entirety?
Something really smells here.
Dragon…here is a future news release.
Worsafe Investigators Basi and Virk Botched Investigation.
Great comment Taxed Out! Makes people wonder why our government is so afraid to have the truth come out!
The news article mentioned the wife of one of the dead workers starting a petition calling for a public inquiry into the sawmill explosion. Here is that petition, please sign it and share it in your social media.
Only 6 signatures shy of 7,000 supporters!
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/the-honourable-christy-clark-call-for-an-independent-inquiry-into-fatal-babine-forest-products-sawmill-explosion
“Seems there is an underlying tone here from some of you commenters”
————
As is there most of the time. They like things to be in their favor as those on the side of “profits at any cost”!
Add to that middle finger…. lead by Gordon Campbell?
Let’s ask for a public inquiry on the failed sawmill north of the Fort on the Leo FSR that the Teegees were involved with!
How much of our tax $ went into that project?
………as was mentioned above, be careful what you ask for in public
dragon master very rarely when there is a mess up and evidence is removed is there another trial. You get one trial unless new and damning evidence is uncovered which is uncommon. As for finding evidence to lay charges the same rules apply and many time people avoid charges and prosecution because of a this. How many times should and person or business be investigate and tried? Until the loudest voice gets the ruling they?
Who will pay for this new investigation / inquiry ? And when the findings are the same will we do another one and another ? How many ” kicks at the can” is too much or too little ?
Worksafe told them to clean up their mess. They didn’t ! Boom! And that is worksafes fault?
Get you facts straight ImFrank that was the Tache band not Takla….wrong band with respect to Leo FSR mill….spreading B#LLSHIT to smear mud ImFrank?
No kidding Taxed Out, ImFrank is referring to the Teeslee Sawmill, which was an Ed John; Tl’azt’en (Tachie) Nation initiative.
Terry Teegee had no part in this sawmill, I hope he reads your comment ImFrank, and sues your ass off!
A Tachie nation tax payer funded failure
Yeah, point is your comment was wrong and slanderous! Hmmm⦠first impressions are important, you being new to this comment board ImFrank, I already have my first impressions of you!
Siabiz, there hasn’t been a trial.
I think what we need to come away with in regards to this incident is quite simple, WorkSafe BC needs to stay out of incidents involving death, they can assist however they should not actively investigate any incident involving death of a worker. Here’s the reasoning. They clearly botched this investigation by sloppy handling, collecting and logging of evidence. If and incident involves death that’s a police matter, the RCMP should spearhead the investigation. WorkSafe can assist by providing site information and other details, but they need to stay out of the scene unless escorted and or assisted by a police investigator.
This should never have happened, but it has and clearly the investigation was botched by untrained idiots stumbling around, a for all intents and purposes “crime scene”. That’s just my opinion.
No C.S.I. Burns Lake? Look into it.
WorkSafe inspectors are not doing their jobs…when workers alert them to dust issues they brushed our concerns aside. I hope the CSTC funds them to file a civil action and sue the WorkSafe inspectors and the Company for their negligence. It’s a cover up
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/the-honourable-christy-clark-call-for-an-independent-inquiry-into-fatal-babine-forest-products-sawmill-explosion
I see another person has already posted the link above but here it is again. My son died in the Lakeland fire and as we know the similarities are obvious. At this moment the petition is shy of just under 500 hundred signatures to reach the goal of 7500. Here,s some food for thought.
The response to the petition regarding the Babine Forest Products mill explosion in 2012 has been absolutely great. But the petition needs more signatures. If you who read this have been a bit reluctant to sign or mean to but just “haven’t got around to it”, please think what it was like for those people who said “see you later” as their, husband, son, Dad went off to work that day. The “see you later” was either to see their bodies a few hours later or their horrible pain as they died from the effects of just doing their job and for other family members, never to see their loved one again. Think of those men and families who survived but now have to live with the scars and anguish of what has happened to their lives because they just went to work that day.
Think how these families and loved ones have waited and are still waiting for some kind of justice, for answers, for responsibility defined but all they hear is clean up your act and do a better job next time.
Put your self into the picture, suppose it was you, your husband your wife or your son or your daughter who said see you later and went off to do their job and were killed or maimed because they did.
Please support these families, please sign this petition and maybe the slogan “families first” may have a better ring to it.
Thank you for your comment John, I am sorry for what you, and your family, have had to endure.
May you, and the others, find the answers to the questions you seek, and a public inquiry will help find those answers.
I will post the clickable link to the petition one more time.
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/the-honourable-christy-clark-call-for-an-independent-inquiry-into-fatal-babine-forest-products-sawmill-explosion
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