The sister of one of two miners killed in a Sudbury mining accident in 2011 said she's looking forward to the answers coming from an upcoming coroner's inquest into her brother's death.
Briana Fram's brother, Jordan Fram, was killed along with his co-worker, Jason Chenier, when they were crushed by a 350-ton run of muck at the 3,000-foot level of Vale's Stobie Mine in June, 2011.
The Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario announced Jan. 6 a 10-day inquest into their deaths will begin at the Sudbury Courthouse April 20. Because it was a workplace death in a mine, it's mandatory to hold an inquest.
Dr. David Eden will preside as inquest coroner, and Susan Bruce and Roberta Bald will be counsel to the coroner.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding the men's deaths. The inquest jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths from occurring.
“This inquest is just another chapter in the process of loving a loved one in the manner that we've lost Jordan,” Fram said.
“We know that this inquest will be a difficult time for us, but with tragedy, often good emerges, and we're hopeful that the inquest will bring about results that will prevent further accidents from occurring.
“We know that the accident that took Jordan and Jason's life was a preventable one, so we're looking forward to those answers and to make those changes.”
Fram added that she expects her family will attend the inquest.
The inquest is just the latest investigation prompted by the men's deaths. Vale and Steelworkers Local 6500 conducted separate investigations and released reports about the incident.
In September 2013, Vale pleaded guilty to three charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined $1,050,000 in connection to the deaths.
Greater Sudbury Police also held an investigation and decided not to lay criminal charges.
After the accident, the victims' families and community supporters formed the Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone's Support (MINES) committee, which pushed for the provincial government to conduct a mine safety inquiry.
Instead, the government started a mine health and safety review, which held public consultations in a number of cities associated with the mining industry, including Sudbury.
With the accident's fourth anniversary coming up this spring, Dr. Reuven Jhirad, deputy chief coroner of the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, said there's a good reason it's taken so long to call an inquest.
“We wait for all investigations to complete, whether that's a police investigation or a Ministry of Labour investigation,” he said.
It's necessary to wait until all other investigations are complete to ensure the most information possible is available, Jhirad said.
“You wouldn't want to have an inquest process and then have a ministry report surface later that could have been really very useful to the jury,” he said. “We try to make sure we have all the information they need.”
The inquest jury — which will be made up of local citizens — will make recommendations, but they aren't binding, Jhirad said.
“They are just recommendations, but they are looked upon usually by all those people involved very seriously,” he said.
