Guilty plea expected in Eastway Tank blast case, ministry tells victims' families

Families shattered by an Ottawa workplace explosion that killed six people in 2022 are being told by Ontario's Ministry of Labour to expect a guilty plea next month in the workplace safety case against the employer, CBC has learned.

In an emailsent Friday to families of the victims of the Jan. 13, 2022explosion at Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter,a ministry official wrote that the case would be resolvedin court with a guilty plea on April 5. Two families shared the email with CBC.

David McCaskill, a Crown lawyer on the case, confirmed to CBCthat trial dates are no longer needed "and at this pointwe anticipate the matter returning to court on April 5 for expected resolution."

One year after the explosion, the ministry chargedEastway Tank and its owner Neil Greene withthree identical countseachunder the province's Occupational Health and Safety Act, including allegedly failing to take reasonable precautions to protect workers.

It's not clear ifboth Greene and his company will plead guilty, or to which charges.

Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson and Russell McLellandied inthe Jan. 13, 2022, explosion, Ottawa's worst workplace incident in decades.

A sixth employee, Matt Kearney, succumbed to his injuries in hospital the next day.

Bastien's fianceLouise Martelsaid she was relieved the case would not go to trial. She wanted to be spared grisly detailsabout the explosion, she said.

Martel said she plansto attend the April 5 appearance and hopesto see Greene there in person. She'dlikechance to tell him "about our suffering and what we lost [and]the life that we won't have," she said in French.

Friday's note about an expected guilty plea came after a judicial pre-trial between the Crown and Greene's lawyers.

A months-longjudge-only trial in Ottawa's Ontario Court of Justice against Eastway Tank and Greenehad been slated to begin March 4, but was then postponed to March 18 as talks between the lawyers continued.

Greene's lawyer, Kirstin Macrae, declined to comment Friday on the ministry's note to families.

When reached for comment, the Ministry of Labour said thematter is scheduled to be spoken to on April 5.

Police still investigating

The Ministry of Labour also alleged Eastway failed to ensurea truck "was free of gasoline or any other flammable liquid or substance" while work or testing that could ignite it was taking place nearby,according to court records.

An industry expert has told CBC this chargeaccuses Eastway of working on a "hot truck"an allegation previously made by several former Eastway employeeswho spoke to CBC after the explosion.

Those employees also alleged other examples of an unsafe work environmentincluding improper storage of flammable chemicals, as well as earlier fires.Greeneat the time called those allegations "unfounded."

Eastwaycouldface a maximum fine of $1.5 millionand Greene would face a maximum fine of $100,000, jail time of up to 12 months, or both. The act does not lay out minimum fines or jail sentences.

In its note to families, the ministry asked them toprepare victim impact statements for the April 5 court appearance.

The Ottawa Police Service, which launched its own probe,said Friday itcontinues to actively investigate the explosion.