Mr. Speaker, yesterday we remembered the 10th anniversary of the Westray mining tragedy and the loss of so many lives.
Allen Martin, whose brother died in the blast, was reported as saying “workers still have little control over the safety of their workplaces.”
This past week, MPs have been asked by former Westray miners and members of the steelworkers union to make corporate executives and directors accountable for unsafe working conditions. The call for corporate accountability was first made in 1997 as one of the recommendations of a public inquiry.
It has been 10 years since the Westray mine disaster and 5 years since the inquiry's recommendations. It is time for the government to proceed and amend the criminal code. Every possible preventive measure is most desirable so that the death of miners not be repeated.