House of Commons Hansard #62 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-20.

Topics

Westray MinePrivate Members' Business

2:05 p.m.

NDP

Bev Desjarlais NDP Churchill, MB

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion put forward by the member for Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough. Our leader, the member for Halifax, has already put in place a private member's bill which has not yet been drawn.

Although Judge Richard's recommendations came down on December 18, 1997, sadly we have not seen the government come up with any answers to his recommendations. Nothing.

There was no doubt in anybody's mind whatsoever what happened at Westray. There was negligence on behalf of the corporate executives and the owners of Curragh Resources, namely Clifford Frame. There was no question, but what was missing was the law to hold them accountable.

At one time we did not have laws that strongly enforced impaired driving charges. At one time we did not have laws which brought criminals to justice when they raped women. At one time we did not have laws in place in regard to spousal abuse. At one time we did not have laws in place for child molesters. But what did we do to improve those situations? We brought in laws.

A government with any degree of conscience, leadership or vision would have come forth with a motion or bill to address this issue. It should not be left to the members of the opposition, but thank God members on this side have seen fit to address the issue because the government has not.

We heard a lot about what happened at Westray. Canadians nationwide were appalled. They could not believe that when workers go into their workplace they give up the right to be treated equally. They give up the right to be treated as human beings, as any other Canadian citizen, if someone's negligence and outright disregard causes their death.

Workers in this country are not treated fairly, not on this issue nor on other issues. It does not happen. They give up that right. Why are those rights not there? It is to protect corporations. Why do we have worker's compensation legislation in Canada? It is not to protect the workers. It is to protect the corporations from being sued by their workers if there is negligence and they become injured on the job.

There were supposed to be no-fault insurance plans to protect the corporations but what has happened? Workers do not have the same rights. They cannot sue their employer for outright negligence. What is even worse, we now find out that even if there are numerous deaths as a result of that negligence there are no laws that can bring those executives to task.

This is not about whimsical approaches. This is not about a one time instance where something happened and the worker died. This was chronic negligence. This was repetitious disregard for health and safety legislation. This was as a result not just of the company but of the conflict of interest of provincial governments and federal governments because they had been involved in making sure that project took place, that the mine operated.

How can we expect justice when there was provincial and federal government involvement in that whole Westray Project? How can we ask for justice?

Let us not let the lives of those 26 miners and the hardship and grieving of their families go for naught. Let us at least see one inkling of good come from that disaster. Let us see the criminal laws in this country change to bring those negligent employers—I do not care whether they are large employers or small employers—if they have been negligent, let them be taken to task before the courts of this country and be held accountable.

Westray MinePrivate Members' Business

2:10 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Mark Muise Progressive Conservative West Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, I rise with pleasure this afternoon to participate in this debate. I will take this opportunity to congratulate and thank my hon. colleague from Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough for bringing this motion forward and for working so hard to make this Westray motion votable.

My colleague continues to shed light on the important matter of workplace safety as a result of the Westray mine disaster in May 1992. I and indeed the entire caucus of the PC party support the motion fully.

I wish to read Motion No. 79 to the House. It states:

That, in the opinion of this House, the Criminal Code or other appropriate federal statutes should be amended in accordance with Recommendation 73 of the Province of Nova Scotia's Public Inquiry into the Westray disaster, specifically with the goal of ensuring that corporate executives and directors are held properly accountable for workplace safety.

As well, I think that it is important for me to read Recommendation 73 of the Westray inquiry. It reads:

The Government of Canada, through the Department of Justice, should institute a study—

—Of the accountability of corporate executives and directors for the wrongful or negligent acts of the corporation and should introduce in the Parliament of Canada such amendments to legislation as are necessary to ensure that corporate executives and directors are held properly accountable for workplace safety.

Recommendation 73 clearly calls on the Government of Canada through the justice department to institute a study to ensure the accountability of corporate executives. The criminal code must be amended to ensure that corporate executives and directors are held properly accountable for workplace safety.

Let me inform members of the House what brought this motion to life. On May 9, 1992, an explosion occurred at the Westray mine killing 26 workers. It was a horrible tragedy, one that was felt throughout the province of Nova Scotia and indeed the country. Many Nova Scotians acted in heroic fashion that deadly day back in May 1992.

The devastation on that Mother's Day nearly eight years ago has left a long and painful memory in the hearts and minds of miners in the province of Nova Scotia. The explosion at the Westray coal mine sent a very chilling message to the people. The message was that haste and financial gain often put people's lives in danger.

The death of the 26 coal miners was foreign and unexpected to a peaceful community like Plymouth. The families of these miners were left having to come to grips with how such a tragedy could have occurred. That is why it is incumbent upon us as legislators to ensure that there is a safe working environment for all workers engaged in labour activity.

Days after the Westray mine explosion, on May 15, the Government of Nova Scotia appointed Mr. Justice Peter Richard to head a commission of inquiry established under the Public Inquiries Act. The commission had a very broad mandate so as to shed light on the explosion and all related circumstances. The commission's work thus began immediately to prepare the public hearings set to begin on October 19, 1992.

The final tabling of this report occurred five years later in November 1997. The report entitled The Westray Story: A Predictable Path to Disaster contained 74 recommendations. It concluded that this tragedy could have been avoided if minimal occupational safety standards had been met. Allow me to take a moment to read from Justice Richard's report:

The Westray Story is a complex mosaic of actions, omissions, mistakes, incompetence, apathy, cynicism, stupidity, neglect—viewed in context, these seemingly isolated incidents constitute a mindset or operating philosophy that appears to favour expediency over intelligent planning and that trivializes safety concerns. Indeed, management at Westray displayed a certain disdain for safety and appeared to regard safety conscious workers as the wimps in the organization. To its discredit, the management at Westray, through either incompetence or ignorance, lost sight of the basic tenet of coal mining that safe mining is good business.

There are ways to prevent such tragedies. There are ways to eliminate criminal actions by corporations, and this is what the motion seeks to address. There are ways it can be done by amending the criminal code, some of which were proposed by Justice Richard. One proposal would be to create a new criminal offence that would impose criminal liability on directors or others responsible for failing to ensure that corporations maintain an appropriate standard of occupational health and safety in the workplace. This is precisely what this motion would address.

In Nova Scotia mining is regulated by three pieces of legislation: the mineral resources act, the occupational health and safety act, and the coal mines regulation act. Mr. Justice Richard reviewed all these provincial acts and concluded that their main purpose was to ensure the safety of all workers.

Unfortunately we have seen many examples of occupational safety in the workplace taking second spot behind the bottom line, especially in the mining industry where the very nature of the work involves a great deal of risk. It is the duty of company officers to ensure that the work is done in the safest possible conditions.

We want to ensure that individuals inside and outside corporate Canada are dealt with equally and fairly under the law. Executives will not be able to hide behind their job titles in the commission of their duties.

Corporate Canada understandably has two related functions: to make a profit and to create jobs. Profit is a good thing but a balance has to be struck between making a profit and the cost that is sometimes incurred by the behaviour of some companies. There must be a balance between making a profit and the means by which to get there.

Section 220 of the criminal code refers specifically to criminal negligence causing death. Similarly section 234 refers to manslaughter. There may be the need as well to introduce amendments to these sections that would broaden the scope of culpability, or perhaps even go so far as to make specific references to executives, directors or persons in management positions.

It is my hope that the devastation of the Westray disaster will not be forgotten. Just as important, the recommendations of the inquiry cannot be forgotten either. The fundamental and basic responsibilities for the safe operation of an underground coal mine, and indeed any industrial undertaking, rest very much with the owners and managers.

Westray management starting with the CEO was required by law, and certainly by good business practices and good conscience, to design and operate a mine safely. The significance of that failure cannot be overstated. Simply because others were also abdicating their responsibilities is not an answer. Shared responsibility can be said to be implicit in the recommendations that came from Mr. Justice Richard's report.

Companies must ensure that to avoid practising hazardous or illegal practices these acts cannot be condoned in any capacity. If companies have not already done so, they should do everything within their power to implement safe, ethical work practices. Ethics such as these should be studied and followed everywhere in places of employment, even in upper management. If this is not the case, actions must be taken to demonstrate the importance and the seriousness of the issue.

Business executives must promote and nurture safe work ethics and have an open, approachable attitude toward their employees. No one ever wants to feel the effects that were felt in Plymouth with the Westray mine.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this motion and thank my colleague from Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough.

Westray MinePrivate Members' Business

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Monique Guay Bloc Laurentides, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a few minutes to speak to the issue we are addressing today, the Westray mine disaster.

The federal government seems to forget such disasters quickly. This is something that should leave a mark, that we should not forget and, if possible, that should not happen again.

The inquiry into the Westray mine accident showed that there was negligence, that part II of the labour code was not complied with. A review of part II of the labour code has been tabled, but we sense that this is not part of the government's priorities at this time.

It has been almost 10 years that this part of the labour code has not been reviewed. This is something that should be reviewed regularly, not every 10 years. Ten years is much too long; there are too many adjustments and changes to be made.

In this part of the labour code, many things are written, but are not done. It says we should do this and that. Also, fines for non-compliance are ridiculously low. Employers take advantage of this, particularly big companies such as the ones operating the mine. They do not comply with the code and, in any case, do not care about these ridiculous fines. They can afford to pay them.

This is a crucial point and I think it should be entirely reviewed.

Powers should also be given to these industries' employees. They should be able to lodge complaints. Currently, under the labour code, in respect of occupational health and safety, officials are sent by the government to inspect sites and mines.

It is interesting to note that the new labour code provides for the establishment of committees made up of inspectors, employees and employer representatives, who will ensure compliance with the occupational health code.

How it will be done is another story because the way the bill is drafted, it seems very complicated. However, we will discuss this in committee and make amendments if necessary. We must correct what is wrong with respect to occupational health and safety.

I also noted other significant errors in this document. Fines are imposed, but nothing is said about the way they will be collected. Inspectors do not deal with that. Very often, the government does not do its job. It makes tough laws, but does not provide the people required to enforce those laws.

It is all fine and well to have a very tough and very clear piece of legislation. It looks good, but we need the human and financial resources to enforce it. It is not a job for the police, but for the experts in labour code issues who inspect these sites. We must never ever see such a tragedy again.

If I look at what is being done in Quebec, our labour code and our legislation are a lot tougher than those of the federal government. That is why our miners are much better protected. There are legal procedures for them to make formal complaints or take group action against the employer if he does not do his job and does not see to the safety and security of his workers.

We could take as an example what is being done in Quebec and elsewhere where there are laws protecting employees, people working in the mines, and their families. It is hard enough on these people's health to work in a mine. We know how they suffer from chronic diseases and other problems, how quickly these men and women age because they work underground in an environment that is not necessarily healthy. We must make sure they have what they need, all the necessary tools and equipment to protect them physically in the workplace.

If we cannot give this to miners, to people who work very hard all their life for these companies, we are not worth much.

We have some work to do in this area. The labour code is not the only solution. There are many other options. Legal proceedings for instance. I know that often, and this is another problem, when one tries to sue big companies, mine owners, the final outcome is far from certain. Obviously small miners, or the families affected by these events, cannot afford to take on big companies like that, to hire lawyers and pay court fees.

I believe justice must be done. Those who are really to blame, who were negligent, must pay for their mistakes. Such a tragedy should never ever be allowed to happen again, both for the sake of the families and the children involved, and for all those concerned.

Westray MinePrivate Members' Business

2:25 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)

The hour provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired. The order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the order paper.

It being 2.29 p.m. the House stands adjourned until Monday, March 13, at 11 a.m., pursuant to Standing Orders 28(2) and 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 2.29 p.m.)