The United Steelworkers union is attempting to launch a private prosecution claiming criminal negligence against Weyerhaeuser Canada after Crown prosecutors refused to charge the company in the death of a sawmill worker.

Weyerhaeuser employee Lyle Hewer, 55, was engulfed by wood debris as he tried to clear a jammed silo at the company's mill in New Westminster, B.C., on Nov. 17, 2004.

Union director Stephen Hunt said the Steelworkers want the company charged under Criminal Code amendments made following the 1992 Westray mine disaster in Nova Scotia with Bill C-45.

'We will determine what our appropriate involvement should be' —B.C. Crown spokesman Neal Mackenzie

"The Westray bill was put in place for a reason; they moved workplace deaths into the Criminal Code for a reason," Hunt said in an interview.

"It won't bring Lyle Hewer back to life. What I hope it will do is be a deterrent to other employers so that when they make decisions on workplaces, they make them with the care and caution for their workers that they should."

Documents filed

The union filed court documents Thursday in its attempt to initiate the private prosecution.

WorkSafeBC, a provincial agency that investigates workplace accidents, fined Weyerhaeuser $297,000 in 2007.

The agency concluded numerous officials with the company knew for years the machine involved in Hewer's death was dangerous, but they did nothing to address those risks and continued to let employees work with it.

WorkSafeBC also asked New Westminster police to investigate possible charges of criminal negligence, and submit a report to the Crown.

The criminal justice branch of the B.C. Attorney General's Ministry decided not to prosecute Weyerhaeuser, saying there was little likelihood of a conviction.

On Thursday, a spokesman for the branch said the province has final say on whether a private prosecution is allowed to proceed, is taken over by the Crown, or is stayed, which would effectively kill the charges.

"We will review our earlier involvement, and we will determine what our appropriate involvement should be," said Neil MacKenzie. "Generally, branch policy doesn't permit a private prosecution to proceed. The Crown counsel will usually take conduct of the prosecution and proceed with it, or we will direct a stay of proceedings."

Company spokesman Wayne Roznowsky declined to comment on the potential for a private prosecution, which he said still has other legal hurdles to overcome before going ahead. He pointed out that the Crown's decision not to proceed with charges followed an extensive investigation.

"The Crown did review the facts around this matter and at that time made the unanimous decision not to lay criminal charges," said Roznowsky.

Hunt noted the Steelworkers' involvement in lobbying for the Westray bill, which made it easier to charge companies that fail to protect workers with criminal negligence.

The Westray explosion killed 26 miners. A judge heading the public inquiry into the tragedy blamed it on a series of safety lapses at the mine.

"It took us 10 years to get [the Westray bill]," said Hunt. "We made a commitment to the victims and the survivors to say we'd never have another Westray and we meant it."