Warren given life sentence, named in Giant mine lawsuit

Convicted of second-degree murder (T.N.M., Jan. 30/95) in the bombing deaths of nine miners at the Giant gold mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T., Roger Warren was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

The miners (replacement workers and union members who had crossed the picket line) died in the Sept. 18, 1992, explosion that occurred during a labor dispute at the mine owned by Royal Oak Mines.

Second-degree murder carries a minimum life sentence without opportunity for parole for 10 years. However, the jury, which deliberated for five days, recommended that Warren, 51, serve at least 20 years, and Chief Justice Mark de Weerdt of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories agreed. Warren’s lawyers said they will appeal the conviction.

Meanwhile, Canadian Press reports that Warren and Royal Oak are named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the families of the nine miners killed in the explosion.

The suit was filed Sept. 12, 1994, by the Workers’ Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories on behalf of the families, but it could not be made public until after Warren’s trial.

The suit, filed in the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, asks that additional money be paid to the families of the dead men.

Also named in the suit (among others) are Pinkerton Security and ProCon Miners Inc. The Canadian Association of Allied and Smelter Workers (the union representing the miners at the time) and local president Harry Seeton are also named, as well as the Canadian Autoworkers Union, which now represents Giant’s miners.

Court documents cite many grounds for the suit. Warren is named for setting the blast that killed the men.