The ArcelorMittal trial, which began a year ago, is drawing to a close.
Indeed, the Crown presented its argument Monday and Tuesday at the Sept-Îles courthouse. Prosecutor Claude Girard must convince the court that the mining company was criminally negligent and ignored the health of its workers. According to him, ArcelorMittal knew the danger to which its workers were exposed.
He particularly stressed that the accounts of dozens of witnesses and the information contained in a log of events from the mining company prove that the risks around a conveyor were known.
Employees knew that a chain used to drive this massive mining equipment did not have the required tension and that a repair had to be made. Moreover, a clicking sound which worried the workers had been heard during the previous days and weeks.
However, according to the criminal and penal prosecutor, the maintenance work has been postponed on numerous occasions. Me Claude Girard claimed that the company was motivated more by considerations of production and profitability and never assessed the risks for its workers.
He emphasized that the victim Jason Lemieux had to violate a health and safety rule to carry out the task asked of him, namely greasing the equipment. He had to put his arm through the guardrail located near the conveyor, an example of ArcelorMittal’s negligence in terms of health and safety, according to the Crown.
The workplace accident occurred when a chain guard, a piece of steel weighing several hundred kilograms, came loose after the conveyor chain broke.
Jason Lemieux has after-effects from the event, including partial deafness.
ArcelorMittal’s lawyers, who chose not to present any defense witnesses, will present their pleadings on Thursday and Friday.
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