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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to decide within four to six months whether the appeal from widows of those killed in the 1992 Giant Mine bombing will stand or be dismissed.

Canada's top court heard lawyers' arguments Thursday from all parties involved, including the widows, the union, the GNWT, Royal Oak Ventures and Pinkerton Securities.

In total, 17 lawyers were present at the hearing in Ottawa, Jeff Champion, attorney for the victims' families, told Yellowknifer on Thursday. One widow, Doreen Hourie, and her son, Jim, was also at the hearing.

"We each had an hour to argue our case," said Champion.

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the appeal last November. The families of the victims lost in the NWT Court of Appeal in June 2007 when three judges overturned a December 2004 decision that awarded the families $10.7 million in compensation.

The NWT Supreme Court had previously ruled responsibility for the deaths was divided among Roger Warren, the man convicted of planting the explosives; mine owner Royal Oak Ventures, then called Royal Oak Mines; Pinkerton Security; the GNWT; the Canadian Auto Workers union; and three union members.

"Our arguments centred on whether or not the parties ... had a duty of care to protect the people who were killed," said Champion.

From his clients' standpoint, the people who are responsible for keeping the mine safe - the union, the government, the security company and the mine owner - "ought to do their jobs," he added.

The nine miners were killed during a labour dispute at Giant Mine on Sept. 18, 1992. The nine men died when their rail car hit a homemade explosive set by Warren, a striking miner. The nine men on the rail car were strike line crossers and replacement workers hired by Royal Oak during the strike.

Champion said the hearing was the first "electronic appeal" done in the Supreme Court of Canada, to date. Because of the sheer volume of documents - there were 114 banker's boxes worth of information to go through for the NWT Court of Appeal case - lawyers made electronic presentations of the documents to "make things go quicker."