Widow of Come By Chance refinery worker hopes accountability won’t end with safety fines
CBC
A second company has been fined for violating occupational health and safety regulations in the lead-up to a fatal flash fire at the Come By Chance refinery in 2022.
The explosion resulted in the death of one worker — Shawn Peddle — and serious injuries to seven others.
And while workplace safety proceedings are now over, Peddle’s widow says she hopes this isn’t where things end.
“We want criminal charges and hopefully an inquiry someday,” Nora Gill-Peddle told CBC News outside provincial court in Clarenville on Wednesday.
For the second day in a row, Gill-Peddle spent an emotional morning and afternoon in court.
She and other family members of victims relived the details of a deadly tragedy at the Come By Chance refinery — a tragedy they wish had never happened.
“Our purpose is to have our victim impact statements done in court and have that guilty plea there — that's where we get our solace from,” Gill-Peddle told CBC News afterwards.
“So we had people sitting there from the companies who had to listen to us and had to hear the gory details of everything. That made us get a bit of closure.”
Three years ago, the RCMP launched an investigation into possible charges of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
This week, the Mounties told CBC News that the investigation remains active, but they are unable to provide additional details at this time.
The sentencing hearing for the second company to face occupational health and safety charges took place in Clarenville on Wednesday.
Lorneville Mechanical Contractors pleaded guilty to one count. Two others were withdrawn.
The company and Crown made a joint sentencing submission to Judge Mark Pike of financial penalties totalling $54,500.
That includes a fine of $25,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $7,500, plus a $22,000 payment payable to the minister for the purpose of public education.
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