Yellowknife court hears arguments about blame in bomb blast that killed nine

Yellowknife court hears arguments about blame in bomb blast that killed nine

The Canadian Press
October 15, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The blame for one of Canada's worst mass murders is being debated in a Yellowknife courtroom today.
Fifteen years after nine miners were killed by a deliberately set underground bomb at Yellowknife's Giant Mine, lawyers for groups including the Canadian Auto Workers union and the territorial government are appealing a ruling that found them partly responsible.
The groups were ordered to pay ten million dollars to the families of the victims.
Lawyer Lyle Kanee told the appeal court that blaming the union for the actions of one its members would be like blaming a hockey coach for the actions of an out-of-control goon, or blaming parents for the crimes of their children.
He said the original 2004 decision goes against the notion of individuals taking responsibility for their actions.
Other lawyers argued that the trial judge failed to point to any specific action that caused Roger Warren, who is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, to set the bomb.