Supreme court dismisses Westray suit

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the merits of a multimillion-dollar civil action against the government of Nova Scotia by representatives of families of workers killed in the Westray coal mine 10 years ago.

The appeal was the last means by which the miners’ widows and dependent children could sue the provincial government and hold it accountable for the 1992 disaster in Plymouth, which killed 26 miners.

The high-court judges did not give reasons for their decision.

The families were appealing a dismissal of their suit by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, which concluded that the province’s funding of the mine qualified it as an employer and that the no-fault compensation system in the Workers’ Compensation Act, as it stood at the time of the disaster, precluded the families from suing an employer.

Lawyers for the families argued that the province is not deemed an employer under the act, but judges in the Nova Scotia court of appeal dismissed that argument.

In their lawsuit, the families claimed that the province had acted negligently by providing financial support to the Westray coal mine, where conditions were found to be unsafe. The province also incurred liability, the suit claimed, by certifying the qualifications of the mine’s personnel and issuing the licences and permits required to operate the mine.

The families received financial compensation under the Workers’ Compensation Act, but the amount was far less than they would have won had the lawsuit against the province proceeded and been successful.

In 1997, a provincial public inquiry determined the Westray explosion was caused by a spark from a mining machine that ignited methane that was at dangerous levels because of poor ventilation. The resulting fire roared through the mine, killing the workers.

The inquiry concluded that the tragedy could have been prevented if simple measures had been taken to improve ventilation and reduce the levels of methane and coal dust.

Charges were laid against several mine managers and Curragh Resources, the mine’s owner, though these were later dropped.