Trial opening date postponed as potential ‘resolution’ looming in case against Eastway Tank

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There is a potential resolution looming in the province’s case against Eastway Tank, lawyers for the manufacturer said in court Monday. The first trial dates were postponed and another hearing was tentatively scheduled in April for a possible plea.

Eastway and its owner, Neil Greene, were charged by the Ministry of Labour one year after an explosion tore apart the company’s Merivale Road facility on Jan. 13, 2022, killing six employees in one of the worst workplace incidents in the city’s history.

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The trial had been set to commence next week on March 4 and was scheduled to run for eight weeks, though the first week of reserved trial dates was cancelled at Monday’s hearing.

Ontario Court Justice Mitch Hoffman will meet with the prosecutor and defence lawyers in a closed-door session on Friday, where a possible resolution will be discussed, lawyers said in court Monday.

A date was tentatively reserved on April 25 for a potential plea.

If the matter proceeds to trial, the earliest available date for the trial to commence would be March 18. The trial is expected to extend into June.

Eastway and Greene are represented by defence lawyers Donald Bayne and Kirstin Macrae, while the province is represented by ministry counsel David McCaskill.

Charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act allege Eastway and Greene failed to ensure a “wet test” did not produce an explosive vapour, and failed to ensure the process was carried out in an area without a potential ignition source.

Wet tests are commonly used in the industry to assess highway fuel tanks for leaks, and the charges against Eastway suggest a wet test produced fuel vapour that mixed with air inside the shop to create conditions ripe for an explosion – something ultimately triggered by an ignition source, such as a spark, pilot light or open flame.

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The charges also allege Eastway and Greene failed to take reasonable precautions in the workplace, and failed to adequately instruct employees on safe fuel storage and handling.

The charges have not been proven in court. While they are not criminal charges, individuals can be jailed for up to one year and fined as much as $100,000. Corporations can be fined up to $1.5 million under the act.

The explosion killed six workers: Matthew Kearney, 36, a service supervisor and calibration technician; electrician and airplane engineer Etienne Mabiala, 59; welder Kayla Ferguson, 26; electrician Danny Beale, 29; Russell McLellan, 43, Eastway’s plant manager; and mechanic and welder Rick Bastien, 57. A seventh worker pulled from the fire by coworkers suffered serious burns.

Last month, Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter filed a lawsuit against its insurance broker for $14.4 million, alleging “negligence and breach of contract” that left the company underinsured at the time of the explosion.

Eastway filed the lawsuit on Jan. 11 against local insurer Gifford Carr Insurance Brokers, claiming the tanker truck manufacturer has incurred $12.9 million in business income underinsurance losses in the two years since the explosion.

The allegations contained in the lawsuit and those contained in the ministry’s charges against Eastway have not been tested in court.

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— With files from Andrew Duffy

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