Stobie inquest: Recommendations now with the jury

A coroner’s inquest into the deaths of Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier wrapped up today and now it’s up to the four-person jury to come back with recommendations, which will be made public next week.

The inquest was called to look into how the two men died when they were overcome by a run of muck on June 8, 2011 at Vale’s Stobie Mine, and also ways to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The inquest lasted 10 days beginning April 20, and on the final day the jury was presented with eight total recommendations to consider.

Representatives of the families, United Steelworkers Union, and Vale spoke with emotion as they came together and talked about seven recommendations and one joint recommendation.

They include recommendations to have a supervisor attend shifts when high-risk tasks are being performed, follow up on all recommendations by juries in the province and to create a database of those recommendations.

One focused on a change so that no worker will be endangered by an uncontrolled run of material, water or slime, however Dr. David Eden, the presiding coroner, cautioned against making recommendations that were too case specific.

Two recommendations focused on annual training and follow up of training and one focused on barricading procedures and abiding by a no work zone when a barricade is up.

Ryan St. George, who is representing the United Steelworkers, pointed out that the change comes by changing culture, not from words on a page.

The joint recommendation was made with the families, union, Vale and the Ministry of Labour, that the Ministry implement the recommendations contained in the Mining, Health, Safety and Prevention Review, regarding water management in a mine and the Internal Responsibility System (IRS).

Eden said even if there are no recommendations from the jury, there is still something positive that came from this inquest.

“The community can be satisfied that the circumstances surrounding the their deaths have not been overlooked, concealed or ignored,” said Eden.

The jury can choose to accept some or all of these recommendations, choose none at all or make some of their own.

The jury will deliberate and come back with their findings late next week.