Criminal charges were finally filed, Wednesday morning, against the owner of the Estrie Food Valorization Center (CVA) in Sherbrooke in the case of the explosion that occurred in March 2022.
• Also read: Explosion in Sherbrooke in 2022: criminal charges could be filed
Ashley Wallis faces one count of negligent arson in connection with this sad event that left five people injured and threw more than fifteen businesses out of business.
Last week, the Sherbrooke Police Service (SPS) indicated that its investigation was completed and that its report had been submitted to the office of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) “with a view to filing criminal charges” , we could read in a press release.
In the denunciation, which TVA Nouvelles was able to consult, the charge reads as follows:
“Being responsible for a property or owner of all or part of a property, namely 6943 boulevard Bourque, [Wallis] deviated markedly from the normal behavior that a prudent person would have adopted to predict or limit the spread of fires or prevent explosions and contributed to causing a fire or explosion in that property, thus causing bodily harm to several persons and damage to this property, thus committing the criminal act provided for in section 436(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
The maximum prison sentence for one count of negligent arson is five years.
The appearance is scheduled for January 8, according to information from TVA Nouvelles.
In its report following the event, the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) identified several shortcomings regarding the use of propane in buildings.
“The installation, removal and inspection of propane-powered kitchen equipment was deficient,” read the report published in March 2023, a year after the explosion.
Among the deficiencies identified, the CNESST noted that a propane valve had not been closed (or blocked) after the removal of kitchen equipment. This valve is the cause of the leak.
The CNESST also identified that “the detection of propane as well as the information and training of people working in the establishment on the risks inherent to this gas were deficient”.
The CNESST had already issued a notice of violation to the company and a fine worth between $17,000 and $73,000.
The CVA and its owner Ashley Wallis, however, contest this infraction report and the fine issued. A trial is due to be held on the matter in January.
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