MONTREAL - Lawyers for two of the three men accused in the Lac-Megantic tragedy say the men are being used as “scapegoats” and their criminal charges should be dropped.
The accused are train engineer Tom Harding, railway traffic controller Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre, the manager of train operations.
They are each charged with 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death -- one for each victim of the July 2013 train derailment.
A conviction carries a maximum life sentence.
The United Steelworkers union, which represents Harding and Labrie, as well as their lawyers held a news conference in Montreal Thursday afternoon to ask the Crown to drop the charges.
Demaitre is not unionized.
Marc-Anotine Cloutier, director general of Juripop, a legal clinic that is representing Labrie, pointed out that the Transportation Safety Board’s report on the incident brought to light a series of errors and breaches that contributed to the derailment.
“What we know is that any worker put in the same circumstances with the same directives and the same laxity of Transport Canada would have possibly done the same thing,” he said.
Union spokesman Daniel Roy took particular aim at federal cabinet ministers for their reactions to the TSB document.
"Transport Minister Lisa Raitt hadn't even finished reading the report, which blamed her department, and she was already trying to deflect attention by reminding people that criminal charges had been laid," he said.
"While she and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney shy away from their responsibilities, it's average workers who are taking the rap."
The TSB’s report was released nine days ago. In it, the organization identified 18 factors that contributed to the tragedy.
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MMA) Railway and Transport Canada are explicitly named - the first for its 'weak safety culture' and the second for its laxity - while references to Harding and Labrie were indirect.
Thomas Walsh, who is representing Harding, says it’s “interesting” that the report refers to the companies by name but never mentions the men facing charges by name.
"Either we accuse everyone responsible, or who is partly responsible, or we accuse no one," he said.
The TSB report says one of the 18 contributing factors to the disaster was the fact that the seven hand brakes Harding applied before leaving the train unattended for the night were insufficient.
TSB chair Wendy Tadros has said, however, that the underlying causes of the accident go well beyond the number of hand brakes applied and the engineer's actions that night.
Legal proceedings in the case will continue Sept. 11, when a date for the preliminary inquiry will be set.
-- with files from CTV Montreal
