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Vol. 82/No. 1 January 1, 2018
Quebec: Frame-up case against rail workers unravels
BY JOHN STEELE
MONTREAL — At the conclusion of the state’s presentation Dec. 12 of its
frame-up case against locomotive engineer Tom Harding and train
controller Richard Labrie, members of United Steelworkers Local 1976,
their attorneys told the judge and jury they will not call any defense
witnesses. The reason is that the prosecution — after almost two and a
half months of testimony from 31 witnesses — has failed to show the
workers engaged in any criminal actions.
The two unionists, along with former low-level Montreal, Maine and
Atlantic Railway operations manager Jean Demaitre, were each charged
with 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death after the July 2013
Lac-Mégantic runaway crude oil train derailment and explosion that
killed 47 people and burned out the downtown core there. A conviction
could mean life in prison.
Demaitre’s attorney also said he wouldn’t present any defense witnesses.
It has been clear from the start of the trial Oct. 2 in Sherbrooke,
Quebec, that the main target of the government and rail bosses is
Harding, who was the one-person “crew” on the train. He is accused of
not setting a “sufficient” number of hand brakes on the 72-car train
when he finished work that night.
The prosecution case against Harding, based on a report commissioned by
Quebec provincial cops, is in direct contradiction to the conclusions of
the official and published report by the independent Transportation
Safety Board.
The TSB pointed to 18 different factors, documenting widespread
disregard for safety by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic bosses and
oversight failures by the government’s Transport Canada. The latter had
approved the railway’s request to slash crew size in half in order to
cut wage costs and raise profits.
Because of a pretrial ruling by presiding Superior Court Judge Gaétan
Dumas, the safety board report could not be introduced in the trial, and
cannot be used by the jury in its deliberations.
As he had done many times before, Harding parked the train on the main
line at the village of Nantes seven miles up a slope from Lac-Mégantic.
He left the lead locomotive running with its air brakes on, as usual, as
well as setting a number of hand brakes, to prevent the train from
moving. But during the night volunteer firefighters called to the scene
turned off the engine when they put out a small fire that resulted from
unsafe conditions and lack of service. Company personnel called Harding
to tell him what happened. He volunteered to get out of bed and come
check things out. He was told the company had people on the scene, that
all was under control, and he should go back to sleep.
Lacking power the air brakes bled out and the train rolled into
Lac-Mégantic, derailed and exploded.
“At the beginning the prosecution thought they had an open and shut
case, based on the number of hand brakes Harding applied,” Thomas Walsh,
one of Harding’s lawyers, told the Militant in a Dec. 14 phone
interview. “But as the trial unfolded and their witnesses testified
about the lack of training and safety practices by the MMA, their case
began to dissolve.”
Government’s case not convincing
“The burden is on the prosecution to prove its accusations beyond a
reasonable doubt,” he said. “They haven’t even come close to
establishing that Harding committed a crime.”
Under cross-examination many of the prosecution’s own witnesses,
including locomotive engineers and others who worked with Harding,
admitted the company’s “culture” of disregard for safety and
profit-driven priorities created a disaster waiting to happen.
It was revealed, for example, that the bosses ordered Harding, in order
to save the company time and money, not to use an additional braking
system that would have prevented the disaster. Management took no safety
precautions when it cut the crew size down to one person. They let the
train go that day, even though they knew the engine was acting up and
the train was 3,000 tons over the legal limit. Bosses ignored requests
by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic workers, including Harding, to have the
lead locomotive sent to the shop to be fixed. All this and more came out.
A number of people came from Lac-Mégantic to sit in on parts of the
trial. Overwhelmingly they say the wrong people are in the dock — the
workers should be free and the railway’s owners and officials of
Transport Canada should be on trial.
The trial is recessed until Jan. 3, when the prosecution will make its
closing arguments. Defense attorneys for Labrie and Demaitre will
present their arguments Jan. 4, and Harding’s lawyers the next day. Then
the case goes to the jury.
Supporters of Harding and Labrie urge defenders of workers’ rights to be
in the courtroom to show their opposition to the frame-up and stand with
the workers. Messages in support of Harding and Labrie should be sent to
USW Local 1976/Section locale 1976, 2360 De Lasalle, Suite 202,
Montreal, QC Canada H1V 2L1. Copies should be sent to Thomas Walsh, 165
Rue Wellington N., Suite 310, Sherbrooke, QC Canada J1H 5B9. Email:
thomaspwalsh@xxxxxxxxxxx.
Michel Prairie contributed to this article.
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On the Picket Line
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