Penalty in Eastway Tank explosion case doesn't go far enough, some say

Some who have been following the case of Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter — where six workers died in an explosion two years ago — say the penalty the company was dealt Friday doesn't go far enough.

Justice Mitch Hoffman of Ottawa's Ontario Court of Justice accepted and imposed a joint submission from lawyers on both sides recommending a total of $850,000 in fines and fees to Eastway and its owner Neil Greene.

"This was significant. This was the lives of six individuals," said Sean McKenny, the president of the Ottawa and District Labour Council, in response to Friday's decision.

"I'm not sure what kind of message it sends to the [families]," McKenny continued, "but I think to other employers and to the community, it's important the punishment for the offence is on par.

"In this instance, I don't see it that way."

On Jan. 13, 2022, Eastway employees Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson and Russell McLellan died in a blast that destroyed the decades-old family business on Merivale Road. Another employee, Matt Kearney, died from his injuries in hospital the next day.

According to an agreed statement of facts, the Office of the Fire Marshal found gasoline involved in the explosion was the result of "contaminated diesel testing fuel being used in the wet test."

The company and Greene were originally charged with a collective six counts under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Clockwise from top left: Matt Kearney, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Rick Bastien, Russell McLellan and Kayla Ferguson were killed by the Eastway Tank explosion. (Submitted photos)

On Friday, Greene and the company each pleaded guilty to failing to ensure diesel fuel used in testing tank trucks was not contaminated with gasoline or any other flammable liquid of substance.

The company also pleaded guilty for failing to provide adequate information, instruction, and supervision to workers on safe fuel storage and handling procedures to protect the workers from the hazard of diesel fuel.

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The remaining three original charges were not part of the joint submission.

Eastway was fined $600,000 and Greene $80,000, plus victim surcharge fees that put the total penalty at $850,000.

Companies charged under act face a maximum fine of $1.5 million, while people charged face a fine up of up to $100,000 — at least under the version of the act that applied to the Eastway explosion.

As Crown lawyer Daniel Kleiman pointed out, those fine amounts have been raised twice in recent years, but didn't apply retroactively in the Eastway case.

Letters of support for owner

Louise Martel, who was going to marry Rick Bastien, said outside the courtroom during a break that she did not feel the penalty was too low.

Tanner Clement, who survived the blast but was seriously injured, told the court he was "mentally scarred for life."

As he walked away from the courthouse with his family, Clement said he didn't know yet what to think of the penalty.

Greene did not say anything when asked for comment outside the courthouse.

Earlier, in the courtroom, Greene's lawyer Donald Bayne spoke on his behalf when he said to the families, "Your loss is immense. And your emotions are understandable."

Justice Hoffman said he looked at a number of factors when weighing what he ultimately called an "entirely appropriate" penalty.

Those included Greene's remorse, guilty plea, the company's lack of prior convictions over 50 years, his sparing the court and Eastway employees a complex and emotionally draining trial and character letters showing Greene as "a man who has led a life dedicated to friends and family."

Bayne read out from letters of support for Greene, including one from former Eastway workers who described Green as a generous owner who provided annual Christmas turkeys.

"I do hope that Eastway will be able to reopen their shop someday, and I will be first in line to do business with Neil and his team," Chris Guy of Guy Fuels & Propane wrote in his own letter.

The fine levied against Eastway was the highest in Ontario's history for a company of that size. It had 28 full- and part-time workers at the time of the blast.

Jail time in these cases is "extraordinarily rare," a former Ministry of Labour prosecutor previously told CBC.

Steven Bittle, an associate criminology professor at the University of Ottawa, said, "in the big picture of things," the penalty in relation to the gravity of the explosion still felt "miniscule."

"When you're talking about six employees dead, one employee who suffered life-altering injuries and ... basically $100,000 a worker is what the fine amounts to, give or take, I think most people are going to step back and say that's just not enough."