November 26, 1999
(Municipal and Provincial Affairs)

Lloyd Matthews, Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs, says it is "inaccurate, erroneous and misleading" for Opposition Member Bob French to suggest that families of victims of the Come By Chance oil refinery fire/explosion have not been given any information since the incident occurred in March of 1998.

The minister said Mr. French was advised in the Legislature on Friday of a Supreme Court Order issued last March which allowed lawyers and expert witnesses acting on behalf of the families to review the contents of the report of the fire commissioner. The minister said Mr. French was also advised that the report was subsequently reviewed by legal counsel and experts on behalf of the victims.

"Even though Mr. French was in possession of these facts he failed to make reference to these matters in a news release which he issued following the Friday morning session of the Legislature," said Mr. Matthews. "I can only conclude that this is nothing other than an attempt to grab a headline at the expense of the victims of this tragic event."

In his remarks in response to a question in the Legislature today by Mr. French, Minister Matthews stated:

"We understand the need on behalf of the families involved in this tragic situation to have as much information available to them as they can in order to pursue whatever legal options or other types of activity they want to move forward with. In the context of that, and in partial response to that, there was partial disclosure of the information that was contained in the provincial fire commissioner's report. That information has been made available to the families directly and/or through their solicitors."

The minister said Mr. French knows that the government has made a commitment to release the reports following court proceedings and that, as a result of court restraints, the reports cannot be publicly released at this time.

The minister said: "On several occasions, I have advised all members of the House, including Mr. French, that, at the conclusion of the court process, a judge will be appointed and a date will be established for a judicial inquiry. All reports will be publicly released when it is legally possible to do so. This has been the consistent position of government and Mr. French should be well aware of this."

The minister took exception to remarks by Mr. French that failure to release the report is preventing the public from putting pressure on the company and the government to ensure the prevention of similar tragedies.

"Mr. French knows, or he ought to know that, ever since this tragedy occurred, all relevant departments of government have been and are currently and actively involved with the company with reference to the identification and implementation of work safety improvements."

Mr. Matthews said government is doing everything in its power to ensure workplace safety.

Media contact: Gary Callahan (709) 729-1983.