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 Police escort Roger Warren to the Yellowknife Courthouse during his murder trial in 1995. |
Justice Arthur Lutz ruled that a host of defendants - the territorial government, a national union, a mining company and the man convicted of setting the fatal bomb, Roger Warren - were all responsible for one of the deadliest labour battles in Canadian history.
"Some of the defendants' acts and omissions provide ample grounds for finding them at fault," Lutz wrote.
The nine men were killed when their rail car triggered a homemade explosive, planted nearly 750 feet below the surface at Giant Mine.
Their families launched the civil suit in 1994, originally seeking nearly $30 million in lost income and damages.
They were joined by former miner Jim O'Neil in 1997. O'Neil also crossed picket lines during the contentious labour dispute and was one the first to discover the underground carnage, including the blasted body of his best friend Chris Neill.
"It is a sombre day," said Jeffrey Champion, a lawyer for the families, hours after Lutz released his 421-page decision. "So many people were involved in the deaths."
Champion and members of his legal team spoke with some of the plaintiffs yesterday morning. He described their reaction as "gratified."
In his ruling, Justice Lutz said convicted murderer Warren bore the most responsibility for the fatal bombing.
But, while Warren snuck into a remote mine shaft and planted the home-made bomb - a combination of explosive powder and 25-30 sticks of dynamite - he was influenced by vocal union leaders, Lutz determined.
"He got caught up in the strikers' rhetoric, incitement on the line and strike bulletins. Fuelled by the union's aberrant urgings to cause the mine to close down, he finally (decided) that something significant had to be done," Lutz wrote.
Lutz found union members - in particular, Al Shearing, Harry Seeton and Tim Bettger - contributed to the highly-charged atmosphere.
Officials from the Canadian Auto Workers Union also stoked the flames and should have known that "someone was going to be killed," Lutz wrote.
Comments by several members -- including "ram the God-damn hell out of the scabs" -- amounted to more than just "strike talk," Lutz said.
"(It was) disgusting, dehumanizing and degrading to fellow human beings."
Royal Oak liable
Royal Oak Ventures, the company that owned Giant Mine in 1992, also did not do enough to prevent the fatal bombing, Lutz ruled, highlighting the company's decision to use replacement workers, and to ignore safety warnings from an independent security firm.
"The injuries and loss of life of those who were the underbelly of Royal Oak lay at its feet."
Royal Oak president Peggy Witte's management of the strike also contributed to the pre-bombing violence that plagued Yellowknife, Lutz said. But ultimately, Witte was acting for Royal Oak and was not personally liable for the fatal explosion, he decided.
Inspectors negligent
The territorial government was partially liable for the deaths because mining safety inspectors allowed the situation at the mine to degenerate, Lutz also ruled.
He went on to chastise the government for management of the Mining Safety Division, saying the department was "incompetently operated (and) that negligence was rampant throughout its tenure during the strike."
The civil suit, believed to be among the longest in Canadian history, began in October 2003.
It featured 10 plaintiffs, 15 defendants and a small army of lawyers arguing their case in a specially-built courtroom in downtown Yellowknife.
A hearing is scheduled in February where lawyers are expected to argue how defendants, like the territorial government, should be forced to cover their legal costs.
"The defendants decided to fight this lawsuit tooth and nail," said Champion.
Any decision on costs would go a long way towards determining how much of the $10 million judgement will end up in the hands of the families, said Champion.
Under territorial legislation, any damages would first go to the Worker's Compensation Board, which has already paid out millions of dollars to the families of the dead miners, though the precise figure is not being made public.
Territorial Justice Minister Charles Dent said the government would weigh its options before deciding whether to appeal the ruling.
"It is a complex judgement. We need to spend some time reviewing the decision," Dent said.
Timeline of events
Roughly 230 members of the Canadian Association of Smelters and Allied Workers go on strike, seeking concessions from Giant Mine management.
A bomb blast rocks Giant Mine nearly 750 feet below the surface, touching off tremors that are felt kilometres away. When the dust settles, nine strike-breaking miners are dead.
Families of the nine men launch a $34 million civil suit against close to 30 defendants.
Roger Warren is convicted on nine counts of second degree murder in connection with the fatal bombing and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 20 years.
The families of the miners launch a second civil suit against the Canadian Auto Workers Union, president Buzz Hargrove and the nine union members.
Miner Jim O'Neil files a lawsuit seeking $1.8 million in damages from close to a dozen defendants. In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, O'Neil found the bodies of several miners, including his best friend. O'Neil claims to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, nightmares and suicidal thoughts.
A judge orders convicted murder Roger Warren to undergo a psychological examination while imprisoned at the Stony Mountain Institution in Alberta. Warren admits to a psychologist that he planted the bomb at Giant Mine.
As the date for trial nears, the plaintiffs agree to drop their suit against 10 former Giant union members.
The GNWT announces it will spend over one million dollars building and staffing a new courtroom constructed specially for the civil trial.
Opening arguments begin, nearly a decade after the lawsuits were first filed. The trial features 10 plaintiffs - including Jim O'Neil, whose case is being tried in concert with the families of the nine dead miners - and more than a dozen defendants. Lawyers begin their case by playing a recording of Warren's 2003 confession.
Peggy Witte - the hard-line former president of Royal Oak - returns to Yellowknife to testify in the civil suit. Witte says she is still haunted by the bombing and its chaotic aftermath.
Amid heavy security, Warren
takes the stand and admits publicly for the first time his role in the bombing. "It was a total reckless disregard for human life," he said. "I screwed up big time."
Lawyers wrap up their closing arguments in what is believed to be the longest civil suit in Canadian history.
Justice Arthur Lutz files his decision with court officials. He finds Warren, Royal Oak, Pinkerton Security, the territorial government, the Canadian Auto Workers Union and three union members are jointly liable for the deaths of the nine miners. He orders them to pay nearly $11 million in damages.
