'Emotional' inquest into Stobie Mine deaths underway

Both men were members of the community you could imagine bumping into while shopping at Costco, Bruce said.

Chenier was a devoted family man, who once built his children an elaborate fort from scratch, and loved the outdoors. Hiking, fishing and hunting were among his favourite activities.

Fram was a competitive hockey player, had an infectious smile and listed spaghetti with pancakes as his favourite meal.

For the jury's benefit, Bruce went over the basic details of their workplace deaths in Vale's Stobie Mine.

Both men were working at the mine's 3,000-foot level, at the No. 7 ore pass, when they were buried under a uncontrolled run of muck — a mix of rock, ore and water – that had descended on them from a higher level in the mine.

The jury's goal during the inquest – which could last as long as 10 days – is not to assign guilt, but to answer five key questions: Who was the deceased? Where did the death occur? When did the death occur? How did the death occur? And by what means did the death occur?

“At an inquest, no one is on trial,” said Dr. David Eden, the coroner presiding over the
inquest.

Beyond answering the five questions, the jury can also choose to make recommendations – that would be submited to Ontario's chief coroner – to ensure the events that led to Fram and Chenier's deaths are not repeated.

Witnesses with Vale, the United Steelworkers and both men's families are expected to speak at the inquest.

Because an inquest – unlike a trial – is primarily a collaborative approach, counsel for the witnesses will focus on possible recommendations the jury could make to improve mine safety and address the specific conditions that led to an uncontrolled run of muck in Stobie Mine on June 8, 2011.

In an interview before the inquest had started, Wendy Fram, Jordan's mother, said she expected the inquest to be emotional for both families.

Fram commented after the province released released the final recommendations from its Mining Health, Safety and Prevention review on April 15.

Many of the recommendations established through recommendations from past mining inquests.

“We're just formalizing a relationship and a process to make sure that we're responding to real live issues in the workplace,” said George Gritziotis, Ontario's chief prevention officer, and chair of mining health and safety review.