This is what happens when you get a terrible lawyer folks… remember that.

This inquest how the government, management, union and even the fire department all played CYA. How do those people sleep at night.

Another nail in the legal system of canada..

‘Another nail in the legal system in canada (sic)’
The term is ‘another nail in the coffin’, P Val.
You think that just because a duly appointed coroner’s jury didn’t find any hint of corporate negligence or criminal intent in the Lakeland Mills incident that the justice system in this country is broken?
Are you looking for 17th century Salem witch trial justice? Or maybe some Monty Pythonesque ‘if she floats she must be a witch’ jurisprudence? Sh*t happens and the owners of Lakeland Mills are genuinely horrified by the whole affair. It was an accident, period. If you ever develop the ability to perceive the future, and all of its threats and unpredicatability fully and clearly, maybe we’ll start considering you a witch.

Wonder about vor connection to Lakeland.

I have absolutely zero connection to Lakeland Mills Seamutt. I’m watching this whole circus disinterested. A tragic accident happens at a local mill and the armchair conspiracy theorists swing into action. The ridiculous ‘rich business owner is oppressing the working man’, and the ever popular ‘the rich owner must be connected to sympathetic elected members of the provincial legislature’ rhetoric begins. Think about it – what business owner in this day and age would willfully endanger their workforce in order to push though a few more board feet a day? Besides being patently stupid, that’s the stuff of conspiracy theory movie and TV scripts. Complete fantasy, except to those that watch too many movies, TV shows, and the University of YouTube.

Before I start, to be clear, I am not connected to Lakeland in any way and my opinions are formed entirely by what I have read in the media.

I agree with VOR’s first comment. Due process was followed through a Coroner’s Inquest. As I read it, the jury found that a whole bunch of people/parties could have done better but that it was an accident and not something resulting from malicious actions of an evil employer. Could the employer have done a better job at keeping the sawmill clean? I would suggest absolutely based on what I’ve read. Could the employees have refused to work in a workplace they felt was unsafe? From what I read and my experience with their union, absolutely they had the legal right and the strength of the union to support them had they done so.

The employer could have done better but didn’t but the jury appears, to me, to say it wasn’t intentional. The employees could have done better too but didn’t either. The jury appears, to me, to suggest the workers should have refused to work in a known unsafe workplace. Mistakes happened. People got hurt and people died. Absolutely a tragedy that should never have happened. It has still been determined to be an accident.

Sheep!

I am not affiliated with Lakeland what so ever. I am involved in the industry. I agree 100% with VORs comments.

I too agree completely with both the comments of VOR and Irritated. And I have no connection to Lakeland either.

“Mistakes happen” …. with an attitude like that, do not expect any improvements.

As they say this is a good example of a SNAFU of a system which involved the following based on the recommendations

1. BC Forest Safety Council,
2. Manufacturer’s Advisory Group
3. United Steelworkers
4. RCMP
5. BC Ambulance
6. Minister of Jobs, Tourism, Skills and Training
7. Minister of Justice
8. Office of the Fire Commissioner
9. WorkSafeBC
10. City of Prince George
11. Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd.
12. Canadian Standards Association
13. Attorney General of Canada

As they say, safety is everyone’s business. Not a single authority and organization which has an impact of how safety in the workplace is enabled can come away from such incidents and say to themselves that they did everything to the best of their ability. If they could, the Coroner’s Jury could not have come up with the 33 recommendations they made.

We develop complex systems. We assume the systems work. I think anyone who has experienced the integrated workings of a complex organizational system over the years, understands that they often do not. Sometimes it is a single weak link, more often it is a multitude of weak links, as it was in this case.

Just a reminder of the WestRay Mine Disaster which was serious enough to have caused the following addition to the Criminal Code of Canada:
217.1 Every one who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task.

Relate that to the recommendation made in this incident: “The inquest heard that it was very difficult to successfully prosecute bodily harm and death in workplace incidents.”

I’m with VOR and Irritated. I’m not connected to Lakeland but have worked for the Sinclair group in the past an worked in sawmills for about ten years..I’m now in the mining industry and based on the things I have had to deal with I can say that coroners inquests are quite produtive and do come out with some good recommendations which do save lives.. In the field of occupational health and safety there are no easy or straight forward answers. The thing that does need to change or more focus needs to be put into is how risks are anaylized and addressed.