N.S. family preparing lawsuits against province, companies in fatal industrial accident
CBC
The family of a man who drowned last year in an industrial accident in Sheet Harbour, N.S., is preparing to launch legal action against the provincial government and the companies responsible for the work.
Andrew Gnazdowsky, 26, drowned on Oct. 16, 2020, at the Marshall Falls reservoir, which is operated by Nova Scotia Power. Gnazdowsky worked for Brunswick Engineering and Consulting of Saint John, which had been hired by another New Brunswick company, Gemtec Consulting, to do a bathymetric survey of the dam.
He was doing that survey when a piece of equipment failed. He swam out to retrieve the equipment and subsequently drowned. His older sister, Nicole Gnazdowsky, has been pressuring the government for answers on her brother's death ever since.
Dissatisfied with the answers she was getting, Gnazdowsky started her own search, filing numerous requests through access to information laws. In July, she received more than 500 pages of heavily redacted emails, including material that referred to her as "hostile."
Gnazdowsky has appealed the redactions. On Wednesday, she was notified that the province needs more time to respond to her appeal. Deadlines have been extended to next month for some material and to January 2022 for other information.
The province has also been providing the Gnazdowsky family with monthly updates on its investigation. The latest, sent Oct. 5, said the government could not "share specific information as it may negatively impact any potential prosecution."
"We want to assure you that this important work by the investigative team continues," the update read.