THUNDER BAY – An inquest examining the death of Pascal Goulet has begun, more than four years after the miner was killed on the job while working underground at the Lac Des Iles mine.
The coroner’s inquest, mandatory for any death of worker at an Ontario mine, began on Wednesday at the Ontario government building on Red River Road in Thunder Bay with a gallery full of his family members, coworkers and executives with North American Palladium, the company that owns the mine.
Goulet, a 38-year-old father of two, was killed on July 10, 2014 when he was struck by a piece of ore while 825 metres underground at the mine located 90 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
Roger Thomas, a production supervisor at the mine on the day of the incident, described Goulet as a worker who was always in good spirits and was not a risk taker.
“You could always count on him to do a job and do it safely,” Thomas said, adding that Goulet was seen as a “go-to guy” who was very knowledgeable.
Thomas said that work day began with a 6 a.m. safety meeting briefing that was attended by three supervisors and between 20 to 30 workers with the mine’s production, development and construction crews.
Later that morning, Thomas spoke with Goulet in the miner’s work area where they went over the five-point safety card checklist. Thomas said he instructed Goulet to apply water to the pile of muck or rock but part of the hose was buried by rock. Goulet was told to cut the hose, put on a new end and nozzle and hang it back up.
Goulet made radio communication between 11 a.m. and noon, requesting sample bags to be brought down.
Thomas returned to Goulet’s area at about 1:50 p.m. and saw the underground loader was running with its lights on. He then discovered Goulet on the ground outside of the loader, with his head covered by a large rock.
Thomas later estimated the rock could have weighed about 500 pounds.
Goulet was found beyond a “no-go” safe limit line painted on the walls. Thomas said he would only expect a miner to be outside of a loader at that point if they were repairing something.
The Ministry of Labour in 2016 issued a $300,000 fine against Lac Des Iles Mines Ltd. after finding the employer guilty of failing to ensure that written safety precautions and procedures were established and followed to prevent a worker from being outside of a loader while ahead of the safe-limit line.
The three-day inquest is expected to continue until Friday. The five-person jury is charged with determining the means of the death, and can provide recommendations to prevent future similar deaths. Ten witnesses are expected to be called to testify.
Dr. Michael Wilson is the presiding coroner. Parties with standing status has been granted to Goulet’s family, North American Palladium, and the United Steelworkers union, which represents workers at the mine.
