A year after the start of the hearings, the ArcelorMittal trial is almost coming to an end…
The ArcelorMittal trial is entering its final stretch, almost a year after the start of the hearings. The pleadings began with those of the prosecution, which focused on the scene of the work accident which is at the heart of this case, the conveyor room of the Mount Wright mine.
A bit like this trial, marked by numerous delays, the pleadings of the prosecutor Me Claude Girard began after a delay of several hours. Technical problems with the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) and the late sending of a document to the defense lawyers forced the judge Vicky Lapierre to postpone the start of the presentations, which was to take place at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Oral arguments finally began a little after 2 p.m. The DPCP prosecutor Me Claude Girard then showed the judge several photos of the conveyor whose breakdown caused the accident.
According to Me Claude Girard, the environment in which the victim worked, Jason Lemieuxcontravened occupational health and safety standards.
In the images, prosecutor Claude Girard highlighted the presence of puddles of water and hoses on the ground, as well as defects in the guardrails near a conveyor. He also accused the mining company of having failed to maintain this machine, the breakdown of which ultimately caused serious injuries to Mr. Lemieux.
Jason Lemieux, who was present at the trial Monday, was assigned to maintain the conveyor in question when a chain broke and caught him in the head. He still has after-effects from the injuries he suffered on June 7, 2019, including deafness on his left side.
There is only one week left in the ArcelorMittal trial. The public prosecutor will continue his argument tomorrow, all day. Thursday and Friday, it will be the turn of the defense lawyers, with Me Michel Massicotte at their head, to plead in favor of the mining company ArcelorMittal.
