Yellowknife (Feb 04/04) - Supreme Steel Ltd. has been acquitted of charges related to the deaths of two workers.

There was room for improvement in the company's safety practices, however, said Judge Brian Bruser.

The company, which was contracted for work at Diavik mines in the summer of 2001, had been charged with failing to take every reasonable precaution and measure to protect the safety of its workers. The charge was laid after Supreme Steel employees Greg Wheeler, 27, and Gernhard Bender, 33, fell to their deaths when the manlift they were working on tipped over.

Judge Brian Bruser said the prosecution shouldered a heavy burden trying to prove the allegations. He rejected the Crown's theory the men had to operate unsafe equipment, but he agreed the workers were not adequately trained and that pre-checks were inadequate.

"They were generic at best. There should have been more training," Judge Bruser said. The angle rising switch was also said to be defective, he said.

"There may have been safety failures but that does not establish the manlift was unsafe at the time (of the incident)."

The trial began last February in territorial court.

If convicted of the charges under the Mine Health and Safety Act, the company would have faced fines of up to $500,000.