CNRL has blocked a public fatality inquiry into the deaths of two Chinese temporary foreign workers at its Horizon Oilsands site in 2007.
The CBC is reporting that the oil company has blocked any investigation into the deaths other than how one of the deceased was taken to hospital. CNRL enacted court action where it argued in a Jan. 22 hearing that there should be no public fatality inquiry into the deaths.
“This was our last chance to get information, and frankly to get justice,” Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan told the CBC. “To say that I’m frustrated by big oil companies winning again would be an understatement. I say that I’m actually outraged.”
Genbao Ge and Hongliang Lui were killed on Apr. 24, 2007, when working on large storage tanks at the oilsands project.
The decision according to the CBC comes from a telephone conversation involving lawyers for all sides
The roof of one of the tanks collapsed killing the two workers and leaving three others injured. They were employees of Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Ltd.
SSEC plead guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker and paid $200,000 in fines along with a $1.3 million contribution to the Alberta Law Foundation after charges were withdrawn.
CNRL contracted the engineering firm to construct the tanks, when the project fell behind schedule SSEC implemented a quicker assembly plan that was approved by the oilsands giant. It was discovered in OHS reports that the person who devised the new procedure wasn’t a qualified engineer and that workers were only given verbal instructions on how to erect the tanks.
You can read the full CBC article here.
