Although Crown prosecutors blamed WorkSafeBC investigators for failing to follow proper investigation procedures in its handling of a fatal sawmill fire in Burns Lake in 2012, the B.C. New Democrats say the Liberal government, not WorkSafeBC, is at fault.
Two workers were killed in the January 2012 explosion and fire at the Babine Forest Products' sawmill in Burns Lake.
After it investigated the incident, WorkSafeBC handed over the evidence to Crown prosecutors, which suggested the case possibly warranted criminal charges.
But on January 10, the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch announced it could not proceed because WorkSafeBC investigators did not follow procedures that would allow any criminal charges to stand up in court.
"WSBC's examination of the fire site, and the related inquiries, were all conducted as a safety-compliance inspection rather than as an investigation into possible criminal or regulatory enforcement," the Crown stated.
"It is clear that the Clark government has bungled the investigation into the causes of the explosion that killed two workers, injured many others and deeply scarred the community of Burns Lake," NDP Leader Adrian Dix and NDP WorkSafeBC critic Harry Bains said in a joint release.
"Almost a year ago today, in the lead up to the election, cabinet ministers Shirley Bond and Rich Coleman intervened directly, ordering that a report by the B.C. Safety Authority on the explosion not be released to the public. Now we find out that charges cannot be laid because WorkSafeBC made procedural errors while conducting its investigation."
Dix and Bains did not explain how releasing the report would have helped WorkSafeBC investigators follow basic criminal investigation procedures, like informing the owner of the sawmill of his Charter Rights or getting a search warrant.
But Bains and Dix said any shortcomings in the investigation were ultimately the government's fault.
"Why didn't the B.C. government learn from previous incidents and ensure WorkSafeBC investigators are trained to treat workplace injury locations as potential crime scenes?" Dix and Bains ask.
"Why did the two lead government agencies fail to talk to each other in the aftermath of the explosion to make sure the investigation was run properly and to ensure the investigation was not compromised? And what steps is she taking to ensure that this inexcusable mistake is never repeated?"
