The coast guard icebreaker Sir William Alexander was towing the fishing trawler L'Acadien II when it capsized in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on March 29, 2008. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

The families of four sealers who died when their fishing boat sank near the Magdalen Islands in March 2008 have filed a $2.7-million lawsuit against the Canadian Coast Guard and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The two survivors of the sinking are also participating in the lawsuit.

The 12-metre trawler L'Acadien II, from the Îles de la Madeleine, Que., was being towed by the Sir William Alexander in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on March 29, 2008, when the fishing boat hit an ice block and capsized off the coast of Cape Breton, N.S.

Four of the six sealers aboard the disabled vessel died. The two surviving sealers, Bruno-Pierre Bourque and Claude Déraspe, were pulled from the frigid waters by a nearby fishing vessel.

The petition filed in Federal Court is critical of the coast guard’s handling of the towing operation.

The document questions why the crew of L'Acadien II was not transferred on to the icebreaker before it began towing the fishing boat.

The petition also questions why all exchanges between the Sir William Alexander and L'Acadien II were conducted in English despite the fact the boat’s crew spoke French, and a French-speaking officer was available aboard the icebreaker.

The lawyer representing the victims families as well as the surviving sealers is requesting that the trial be conducted in the Magdalen Islands, where all the plaintiffs live.

If the court agrees, it would be the first time the Federal Court has held session in the islands.

The federal government brought in new towing policies for the coast guard in response to several probes into the deadly accident.

The bodies of Capt. Bruno Bourque, Gilles Leblanc and Marc-André Déraspe were recovered. The body of a fourth sealer, Carl Aucoin, was never found.