Human rights tribunal rules that ferry workers must cooperate with Ferries investigation

It’s an unusual path to follow for a safety inquiry, but one more avenue has been disallowed for the Ferry Workers union and their bid to keep stressed out members from participating in a B. C. Ferries investigation into the sinking of the Queen of the North almost a year ago.

On Tuesday, the Human Rights tribunal rejected the union’s position that putting some crew of the vessel through interviews about the sinking would increase or cause Post Traumatic Stress disorder. It had been a major stumbling block in the corporation's investigation of late.

While the Transportation Safety Board investigation has been moving along and is expected to provide it’s report in the near future , the B. C. Ferries internal investigation has been a rather slow moving animal of late.

The reason given by mainly is because of the animosity that seems to exist between management and workers at the corporation.

Perhaps this ruling will allow things to move forward now and bring British Columbian’s closer to answers as to what happened that night in March off of Gil Island.

The Daily News had a full report on the issue in their Thursday newspaper.


Ferry workers to be forced to cooperate with probe
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, February 01, 2007

A bid by the ferry workers’ union to keep stressed-out members from participating in a B.C. Ferries investigation surrounding the sinking of the Queen of the North has failed.
On Tuesday, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal rejected the union’s claim that putting some crew of the vessel through interviews about the sinking would heighten or trigger Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In the application, union president Jackie Miller said requiring crew to testify would constitute discrimination on the basis of a mental disability, contrary to the provincial human-rights code.
However, the ruling noted that many crew have already given testimony to company lawyers and the Transportation Safety Board, testimony that was protected from use in litigation.

It said the union had not produced medical evidence of its claim — although it had tried unsuccessfully to have the company pay for an expert medical assessment for crew.

Further to this, the tribunal noted that the concerns about stress were only raised after two crew members, Fourth Officer Karl Lilgert and Second Officer Kevin Hilton, were suspended without pay for refusing to co-operate with the company investigation.

Although, the pair have answered some questions they have allegedly refused to discuss events between the time the southbound ferry left Grenville Channel and its collision with Gil Island.
Both have had legal representation tell B.C. Ferries that their concerns about testifying had to do with concerns on potential civil or criminal liability.

The company and the union have battled publicly for months about the refusal of the crew to testify.

The Queen of the North sank March 22 off Gil Island. Of the 101 people on board — including 49 crew and 51 passengers — two people did not survive.

B.C. Ferries said in its response to the application that its fleet regulations require it to investigate critical incidents, and that its aim was to determine why the ferry sank and to prevent such accidents in the future.

The tribunal left the option open for the union to further pursue the issue in the future if new information presents itself.