the answer is to ship less hazardous cargo, which will happen in the normal course of things
Lac Megantic Tragedy
- Thread starter Retired_Can_Soldier
- Start date
That is stupid even for you. How do you expect to get products required by industry from where they are made to where they are needed? Should we quit building roads and mining because explosives are required at the jobsite?
Lac-Megantic jurors say they are at an impasse
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
January 16, 2018
Updated:
January 16, 2018 5:33 PM EST
Train engineer Thomas Harding leaves the courtroom after the jury told the judge they are at an impasse on the sixth day of deliberations Tuesday, January 16, 2018 in Sherbrooke, Que.Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS
SHERBROOKE, Que. — A judge urged jurors at the Lac-Megantic trial to try once more to reach unanimous verdicts after they told him Tuesday they had come to an impasse on their sixth day of deliberations.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas told the 12 jurors that failing to reach verdicts for the three accused would not reflect badly on them, provided they “made an honest effort.”
But he nonetheless exhorted them to try again, and the eight men and four women will enter Day 7 of deliberations Wednesday.
“The law gives me the power to dissolve the jury if it appears that holding you longer would be useless,” Dumas told jurors. “This power can’t be used lightly or prematurely.
“Will you please try once again to reach a verdict? This is a time for each of you to reflect further on the evidence and to see how, listening to each other carefully and reasoning together, you can come to an agreement.”
The jurors are deliberating the fate of Tom Harding, Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre. The three were charged with criminal negligence causing the 2013 tragedy that killed 47 people when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in the small town.
After Tuesday’s lunch break, Dumas convened the prosecution and the defence teams back into the courtroom and read a letter from the jury.
“We are at an impasse,” Dumas said, referring to the letter. “What happens if we can’t arrive at a unanimous decision?”
The day before, jurors sent Dumas their first letter, asking for a dictionary and for further clarification on judicial concepts such as “reasonable doubt” and a “reasonable person.”
The dictionary request was turned down.
All three accused can be found guilty of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people, while jurors have the option of convicting Harding on one of two other charges: dangerous operation of railway equipment or dangerous operation of railway equipment causing death.
Harding was the train’s engineer, Labrie the traffic controller and Demaitre the manager of train operations.
The three men each pleaded not guilty.
Charles Shearson, one of Harding’s attorneys and the only lawyer who regularly speaks to reporters, said it is common for jurors to struggle to agree.
“It’s not rare that juries come to an impasse,” he told reporters shortly after Dumas sent jurors back to deliberate.
“The reading of an exhortation, asking them to come to a unanimous verdict while not capitulating on their convictions in their appreciation of the evidence is something common and standard.”
Before Dumas asked jurors to try again, he suggested to the legal teams that if the jury came back a second time without reaching unanimous verdicts on all three accused, he would ask the 12 if they could at least come to an agreement on one or two of the accused.
None of the three men presented a defence at the trial, but lawyers for each told the jury, in turn, the Crown had failed to meet its burden of proof.
The prosecution mounted a case that the three were each criminally negligent in their own way for failing to ensure the train was safe before the wee hours of July 6, 2013.
That’s when the locomotive and its cargo of crude oil from the United States rolled away and derailed in Lac-Megantic, exploding and then killing the 47 people as well as destroying part of the downtown core.
The Crown argued that Harding’s role was significant because he didn’t apply a sufficient number of brakes after parking the oil-laden convoy for the night in nearby Nantes.
That left the locomotive, which weighed more than 10,000 tonnes, resting precariously on a slope 10 kilometres away from downtown Lac-Megantic.
Harding applied only half the required level of brakes and didn’t test them to ensure they worked properly before leaving for the night.
Shearson countered that the rail disaster was an accident resulting from a perfect storm of unforeseeable events.
He said Harding admitted to not conducting a proper brake test and failing to apply a sufficient number of handbrakes, which would have prevented the train from moving after its engine was shut off.
He suggested that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic railway didn’t require its employees to perform brake tests perfectly in line with the federal regulations.
“We can’t hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect,” Shearson told the court.
And Harding could not have foreseen the locomotive catching fire after he left for the night, the lawyer added. Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the lead locomotive shortly before the tragedy and cut the engine, which meant the air brakes were not functioning.
The prosecution also blamed Labrie and Demaitre, arguing their responsibilities included taking the necessary steps to avoid injuries and loss of life the night before the derailment.
Lawyers for the Crown claimed neither man deemed it necessary to check with Harding to see how many handbrakes had been applied and whether tests had been conducted.
Demaitre’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, argued his client had no say in safety-related decisions made in the United States by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic’s parent company.
Labrie’s lawyer, Guy Poupart, argued his client had a limited role in the tragedy. He also played up the testimony of several witnesses who described him as competent, reliable and someone they trusted.
Lac-Megantic jurors say they are at an impasse | Toronto Sun
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
January 16, 2018
Updated:
January 16, 2018 5:33 PM EST
Train engineer Thomas Harding leaves the courtroom after the jury told the judge they are at an impasse on the sixth day of deliberations Tuesday, January 16, 2018 in Sherbrooke, Que.Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS
SHERBROOKE, Que. — A judge urged jurors at the Lac-Megantic trial to try once more to reach unanimous verdicts after they told him Tuesday they had come to an impasse on their sixth day of deliberations.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas told the 12 jurors that failing to reach verdicts for the three accused would not reflect badly on them, provided they “made an honest effort.”
But he nonetheless exhorted them to try again, and the eight men and four women will enter Day 7 of deliberations Wednesday.
“The law gives me the power to dissolve the jury if it appears that holding you longer would be useless,” Dumas told jurors. “This power can’t be used lightly or prematurely.
“Will you please try once again to reach a verdict? This is a time for each of you to reflect further on the evidence and to see how, listening to each other carefully and reasoning together, you can come to an agreement.”
The jurors are deliberating the fate of Tom Harding, Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre. The three were charged with criminal negligence causing the 2013 tragedy that killed 47 people when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in the small town.
After Tuesday’s lunch break, Dumas convened the prosecution and the defence teams back into the courtroom and read a letter from the jury.
“We are at an impasse,” Dumas said, referring to the letter. “What happens if we can’t arrive at a unanimous decision?”
The day before, jurors sent Dumas their first letter, asking for a dictionary and for further clarification on judicial concepts such as “reasonable doubt” and a “reasonable person.”
The dictionary request was turned down.
All three accused can be found guilty of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people, while jurors have the option of convicting Harding on one of two other charges: dangerous operation of railway equipment or dangerous operation of railway equipment causing death.
Harding was the train’s engineer, Labrie the traffic controller and Demaitre the manager of train operations.
The three men each pleaded not guilty.
Charles Shearson, one of Harding’s attorneys and the only lawyer who regularly speaks to reporters, said it is common for jurors to struggle to agree.
“It’s not rare that juries come to an impasse,” he told reporters shortly after Dumas sent jurors back to deliberate.
“The reading of an exhortation, asking them to come to a unanimous verdict while not capitulating on their convictions in their appreciation of the evidence is something common and standard.”
Before Dumas asked jurors to try again, he suggested to the legal teams that if the jury came back a second time without reaching unanimous verdicts on all three accused, he would ask the 12 if they could at least come to an agreement on one or two of the accused.
None of the three men presented a defence at the trial, but lawyers for each told the jury, in turn, the Crown had failed to meet its burden of proof.
The prosecution mounted a case that the three were each criminally negligent in their own way for failing to ensure the train was safe before the wee hours of July 6, 2013.
That’s when the locomotive and its cargo of crude oil from the United States rolled away and derailed in Lac-Megantic, exploding and then killing the 47 people as well as destroying part of the downtown core.
The Crown argued that Harding’s role was significant because he didn’t apply a sufficient number of brakes after parking the oil-laden convoy for the night in nearby Nantes.
That left the locomotive, which weighed more than 10,000 tonnes, resting precariously on a slope 10 kilometres away from downtown Lac-Megantic.
Harding applied only half the required level of brakes and didn’t test them to ensure they worked properly before leaving for the night.
Shearson countered that the rail disaster was an accident resulting from a perfect storm of unforeseeable events.
He said Harding admitted to not conducting a proper brake test and failing to apply a sufficient number of handbrakes, which would have prevented the train from moving after its engine was shut off.
He suggested that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic railway didn’t require its employees to perform brake tests perfectly in line with the federal regulations.
“We can’t hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect,” Shearson told the court.
And Harding could not have foreseen the locomotive catching fire after he left for the night, the lawyer added. Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the lead locomotive shortly before the tragedy and cut the engine, which meant the air brakes were not functioning.
The prosecution also blamed Labrie and Demaitre, arguing their responsibilities included taking the necessary steps to avoid injuries and loss of life the night before the derailment.
Lawyers for the Crown claimed neither man deemed it necessary to check with Harding to see how many handbrakes had been applied and whether tests had been conducted.
Demaitre’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, argued his client had no say in safety-related decisions made in the United States by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic’s parent company.
Labrie’s lawyer, Guy Poupart, argued his client had a limited role in the tragedy. He also played up the testimony of several witnesses who described him as competent, reliable and someone they trusted.
Lac-Megantic jurors say they are at an impasse | Toronto Sun
'We can't hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect'; All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
January 19, 2018
Updated:
January 19, 2018 5:12 PM EST
Fire from a train explosion is seen in Lac-Megantic, Que., on July 6, 2013 after a 74-car runaway freight train carrying crude oil derailed in the centre of the city. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada/HO)
By Stephanie Marin, THE CANADIAN PRESS
SHERBROOKE, Que. — One of the most closely watched Canadian trials in recent years ended Friday with the acquittal of three former railway employees who were charged with criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people in the Lac-Megantic tragedy.
The jurors reached the verdict on their ninth day of deliberations.
Tom Harding, Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre were charged with criminal negligence in the 2013 tragedy that killed 47 people when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded.
Jean Demaitre (left to right) , Richard Labrie and Thomas Harding are shown outside court in Sherbrooke, Que., Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Harding was the train’s engineer, Labrie the traffic controller and Demaitre the manager of train operations.
A teary-eyed and emotional Labrie said he hopes the trial delivered the answers the 47 victims and Lac-Megantic residents were looking for.
“Even though I never spoke, I always thought of you,” he said, his voice cracking. “I would like to say that Lac-Megantic residents, with what they had to go through, showed us a lot of courage and help and lots of resilience.
“I wasn’t expecting to cry. It was hard, it was long, but now it’s finished. I just hope we can easily turn the page and slip back into the anonymity that was ours before July 5, 2013.”
Thomas Walsh, one of Harding’s lawyers, spoke to reporters on his client’s behalf after the verdict.
“Mr. Harding is too moved by the situation to give a coherent expression of what he feels inside,” Walsh said.
“But I know he feels terribly relieved and terribly thankful to the system, the jury system, and this jury in particular.”
Crown prosecutor Veronique Beauchamp said it is too early to say whether there will be an appeal.
“You’ll understand it is not necessarily the decision we were expecting but we respect the verdicts that were handed down and, especially, the work the jurors put in,” Beauchamp said.
“Criminal negligence causing death is one of the Criminal Code provisions that is difficult to prove.”
All three accused could have been found guilty of criminal negligence causing death, while jurors had the option of convicting Harding on one of two other charges: dangerous operation of railway equipment or dangerous operation of railway equipment causing death.
Walsh said the verdict was proof the institution of trial before jury is an important one in a democratic system.
He said he still believes the trial should never have taken place.
“I think it was more proper that there be some kind of a public inquiry to find out and determine all of the circumstances that led to this tragedy — and not just the role one or two people might have played,” Walsh added.
He said Harding is still facing other accusations, which are coming up later this month.
“Those are the ones we always felt were more appropriate for the situation and those are the accusations of non-conformity with the rules, something we have always admitted.”
The three men all pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence.
None of the accused presented a defence at the trial, but lawyers for each told the jury in turn the Crown had failed to meet its burden of proof.
The prosecution mounted a case that the three were each criminally negligent in their own way for failing to ensure the train was safe before the wee hours of July 6, 2013.
This file photo taken on July 5, 2013 shows firefighters as they douse blazes after a freight train loaded with oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Que. (FRANCOIS LAPLANTE-DELAGRAVE/AFP/Getty Images)
That’s when the locomotive and its cargo of crude oil from the United States rolled away and derailed in Lac-Megantic, exploding and then killing 47 people as well as destroying part of the downtown core.
The Crown argued that Harding’s role was a significant one because he didn’t apply a sufficient number of brakes after parking the oil-laden convoy for the night in nearby Nantes.
That left the locomotive, which weighed more than 10,000 tonnes, resting precariously on a slope 10 kilometres away from downtown Lac-Megantic.
Harding applied only half the required level of brakes and didn’t test them to ensure they worked properly before leaving for the night.
Another of Harding’s lawyers countered that the rail disaster was an accident resulting from a perfect storm of unforeseeable events.
“We can’t hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect,” Charles Shearson told the court.
Smoke rises from tanker cars in downtown Lac-Megantic, Que., on July 6, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Shearson said Harding admitted to not conducting a proper brake test and failing to apply a sufficient number of handbrakes, which would have prevented the train from moving after its engine was shut off.
He suggested that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated MMA didn’t require its employees to perform brake tests perfectly in line with the federal regulations.
And Harding could not have foreseen the locomotive would catch fire after he left for the night, the lawyer added. Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the lead locomotive shortly before the tragedy and cut the engine, which meant the air brakes were not functioning.
The prosecution, meanwhile, also blamed Labrie and Demaitre, arguing their responsibilities included taking the necessary steps to avoid injuries and loss of life the night before the derailment.
The Crown claimed neither man deemed it necessary to check with Harding to see how many handbrakes had been applied and whether tests had been conducted.
Demaitre’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, argued his client had no say in safety-related decisions made in the United States by the parent company of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway.
Labrie’s lawyer, Guy Poupart, argued his client had a limited role in the tragedy. He also played up the testimony of several witnesses who described him as competent and reliable and someone they trusted.
As well, he noted that a good portion of the Crown’s case did not involve Labrie.
‘We can’t hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect’; All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted | Toronto Sun
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
January 19, 2018
Updated:
January 19, 2018 5:12 PM EST
Fire from a train explosion is seen in Lac-Megantic, Que., on July 6, 2013 after a 74-car runaway freight train carrying crude oil derailed in the centre of the city. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada/HO)
By Stephanie Marin, THE CANADIAN PRESS
SHERBROOKE, Que. — One of the most closely watched Canadian trials in recent years ended Friday with the acquittal of three former railway employees who were charged with criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people in the Lac-Megantic tragedy.
The jurors reached the verdict on their ninth day of deliberations.
Tom Harding, Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre were charged with criminal negligence in the 2013 tragedy that killed 47 people when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded.
Jean Demaitre (left to right) , Richard Labrie and Thomas Harding are shown outside court in Sherbrooke, Que., Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Harding was the train’s engineer, Labrie the traffic controller and Demaitre the manager of train operations.
A teary-eyed and emotional Labrie said he hopes the trial delivered the answers the 47 victims and Lac-Megantic residents were looking for.
“Even though I never spoke, I always thought of you,” he said, his voice cracking. “I would like to say that Lac-Megantic residents, with what they had to go through, showed us a lot of courage and help and lots of resilience.
“I wasn’t expecting to cry. It was hard, it was long, but now it’s finished. I just hope we can easily turn the page and slip back into the anonymity that was ours before July 5, 2013.”
Thomas Walsh, one of Harding’s lawyers, spoke to reporters on his client’s behalf after the verdict.
“Mr. Harding is too moved by the situation to give a coherent expression of what he feels inside,” Walsh said.
“But I know he feels terribly relieved and terribly thankful to the system, the jury system, and this jury in particular.”
Crown prosecutor Veronique Beauchamp said it is too early to say whether there will be an appeal.
“You’ll understand it is not necessarily the decision we were expecting but we respect the verdicts that were handed down and, especially, the work the jurors put in,” Beauchamp said.
“Criminal negligence causing death is one of the Criminal Code provisions that is difficult to prove.”
All three accused could have been found guilty of criminal negligence causing death, while jurors had the option of convicting Harding on one of two other charges: dangerous operation of railway equipment or dangerous operation of railway equipment causing death.
Walsh said the verdict was proof the institution of trial before jury is an important one in a democratic system.
He said he still believes the trial should never have taken place.
“I think it was more proper that there be some kind of a public inquiry to find out and determine all of the circumstances that led to this tragedy — and not just the role one or two people might have played,” Walsh added.
He said Harding is still facing other accusations, which are coming up later this month.
“Those are the ones we always felt were more appropriate for the situation and those are the accusations of non-conformity with the rules, something we have always admitted.”
The three men all pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence.
None of the accused presented a defence at the trial, but lawyers for each told the jury in turn the Crown had failed to meet its burden of proof.
The prosecution mounted a case that the three were each criminally negligent in their own way for failing to ensure the train was safe before the wee hours of July 6, 2013.
This file photo taken on July 5, 2013 shows firefighters as they douse blazes after a freight train loaded with oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Que. (FRANCOIS LAPLANTE-DELAGRAVE/AFP/Getty Images)
That’s when the locomotive and its cargo of crude oil from the United States rolled away and derailed in Lac-Megantic, exploding and then killing 47 people as well as destroying part of the downtown core.
The Crown argued that Harding’s role was a significant one because he didn’t apply a sufficient number of brakes after parking the oil-laden convoy for the night in nearby Nantes.
That left the locomotive, which weighed more than 10,000 tonnes, resting precariously on a slope 10 kilometres away from downtown Lac-Megantic.
Harding applied only half the required level of brakes and didn’t test them to ensure they worked properly before leaving for the night.
Another of Harding’s lawyers countered that the rail disaster was an accident resulting from a perfect storm of unforeseeable events.
“We can’t hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect,” Charles Shearson told the court.
Smoke rises from tanker cars in downtown Lac-Megantic, Que., on July 6, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Shearson said Harding admitted to not conducting a proper brake test and failing to apply a sufficient number of handbrakes, which would have prevented the train from moving after its engine was shut off.
He suggested that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated MMA didn’t require its employees to perform brake tests perfectly in line with the federal regulations.
And Harding could not have foreseen the locomotive would catch fire after he left for the night, the lawyer added. Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the lead locomotive shortly before the tragedy and cut the engine, which meant the air brakes were not functioning.
The prosecution, meanwhile, also blamed Labrie and Demaitre, arguing their responsibilities included taking the necessary steps to avoid injuries and loss of life the night before the derailment.
The Crown claimed neither man deemed it necessary to check with Harding to see how many handbrakes had been applied and whether tests had been conducted.
Demaitre’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, argued his client had no say in safety-related decisions made in the United States by the parent company of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway.
Labrie’s lawyer, Guy Poupart, argued his client had a limited role in the tragedy. He also played up the testimony of several witnesses who described him as competent and reliable and someone they trusted.
As well, he noted that a good portion of the Crown’s case did not involve Labrie.
‘We can’t hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect’; All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted | Toronto Sun
LAC-MEGANTIC CASE: MMA, ex-workers settle, fined $1.25M
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
February 5, 2018
Updated:
February 5, 2018 9:06 PM EST
This file photo taken on July 5, 2013 shows firefighters as they douse blazes after a freight train loaded with oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Que. (FRANCOIS LAPLANTE-DELAGRAVE/AFP/Getty Images)
By Stephanie Marin, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — The bankrupt railway at the centre of the Lac-Megantic train explosion as well, as several of its former employees, settled with federal prosecutors on Monday and were ordered to pay fines totalling $1.25 million, while one ex-railway worker was given a conditional jail term.
Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, the company that owned the train that derailed in the small town killing 47 people, was found guilty in Quebec Court of violating the Fisheries Act after crude oil leaked into the Megantic Lake and Chaudiere River.
The company was ordered to pay the maximum fine of $1 million due to “the seriousness of the infraction,” said Josee Pratte, lawyer with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which brought the charges.
All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted
Six ex-MMA employees pleaded guilty to violating the Railway Safety Act, namely for failing to ensure the convoy was properly secured the night before it moved on its own and derailed into the small town.
Five of them — Michael Horan, Jean Demaitre, Kenneth I. Strout, Lynne Labonte et Robert C. Grindrod — were ordered to pay $50,000 each.
Ex-train engineer Thomas Harding, who improperly parked the train on July 5, 2013, before leaving for the night, was given a conditional sentence of six months in prison, which will be served in the community.
Meanwhile, railway controller Richard Labrie was acquitted.
Harding, Demaitre and Labrie were charged separately in Quebec Superior Court with one count each of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people, but were acquitted in January.
From the million-dollar fine levelled against MMA, $400,000 is payable immediately and will be put into a fund used to decontaminate the Megantic Lake and Chaudiere River.
Lawyers for the railway had a cheque for $400,000 in their possession on Monday. The money was set aside during bankruptcy proceedings for the U.S. branch of the railway company.
Pratte said it is uncertain how the court will collect the remaining $600,000, adding the financial status of the defunct and bankrupt railroad is “precarious.”
With regards to the fines charged to the five ex-employees, the money will go to the federal government.
Transport Canada, however, has agreed to hand over $250,000 to Avenir Lac-Megantic Fund, which was set up by the town to help with the economic recovery and reconstruction of the downtown area, something Pratte said has never happened before.
“To my knowledge, it’s a first in Canada,” she said, regarding Transport Canada’s decision to hand over money collected in fines to a local fund.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the redirection of the funds to the community-based, locally run organization is being done on an exceptional basis.
“This closes another chapter in this tragic story,” Garneau said in Ottawa on Monday.
LAC-MEGANTIC CASE: MMA, ex-workers settle, fined $1.25M | Toronto Sun
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
February 5, 2018
Updated:
February 5, 2018 9:06 PM EST
This file photo taken on July 5, 2013 shows firefighters as they douse blazes after a freight train loaded with oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Que. (FRANCOIS LAPLANTE-DELAGRAVE/AFP/Getty Images)
By Stephanie Marin, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — The bankrupt railway at the centre of the Lac-Megantic train explosion as well, as several of its former employees, settled with federal prosecutors on Monday and were ordered to pay fines totalling $1.25 million, while one ex-railway worker was given a conditional jail term.
Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, the company that owned the train that derailed in the small town killing 47 people, was found guilty in Quebec Court of violating the Fisheries Act after crude oil leaked into the Megantic Lake and Chaudiere River.
The company was ordered to pay the maximum fine of $1 million due to “the seriousness of the infraction,” said Josee Pratte, lawyer with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which brought the charges.
All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted
Six ex-MMA employees pleaded guilty to violating the Railway Safety Act, namely for failing to ensure the convoy was properly secured the night before it moved on its own and derailed into the small town.
Five of them — Michael Horan, Jean Demaitre, Kenneth I. Strout, Lynne Labonte et Robert C. Grindrod — were ordered to pay $50,000 each.
Ex-train engineer Thomas Harding, who improperly parked the train on July 5, 2013, before leaving for the night, was given a conditional sentence of six months in prison, which will be served in the community.
Meanwhile, railway controller Richard Labrie was acquitted.
Harding, Demaitre and Labrie were charged separately in Quebec Superior Court with one count each of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people, but were acquitted in January.
From the million-dollar fine levelled against MMA, $400,000 is payable immediately and will be put into a fund used to decontaminate the Megantic Lake and Chaudiere River.
Lawyers for the railway had a cheque for $400,000 in their possession on Monday. The money was set aside during bankruptcy proceedings for the U.S. branch of the railway company.
Pratte said it is uncertain how the court will collect the remaining $600,000, adding the financial status of the defunct and bankrupt railroad is “precarious.”
With regards to the fines charged to the five ex-employees, the money will go to the federal government.
Transport Canada, however, has agreed to hand over $250,000 to Avenir Lac-Megantic Fund, which was set up by the town to help with the economic recovery and reconstruction of the downtown area, something Pratte said has never happened before.
“To my knowledge, it’s a first in Canada,” she said, regarding Transport Canada’s decision to hand over money collected in fines to a local fund.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the redirection of the funds to the community-based, locally run organization is being done on an exceptional basis.
“This closes another chapter in this tragic story,” Garneau said in Ottawa on Monday.
LAC-MEGANTIC CASE: MMA, ex-workers settle, fined $1.25M | Toronto Sun
LAC-MEGANTIC TRAGEDY: No trial for bankrupt railway
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
April 3, 2018
Updated:
April 3, 2018 7:22 PM EDT
Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Mégantic, Que., Saturday, July 6, 2013. The railway at the heart of the Lac-Megantic tragedy five years ago will not stand trial. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
By Giuseppe Valiante, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — The bankrupt railway at the centre of the 2013 Lac-Megantic tragedy will not have to stand trial for criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people, Crown officials in Quebec said Tuesday.
After three ex-railway employees facing the same charge were acquitted in January, there was little chance of convicting their former employer, Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, said Crown spokesman Robert Benoit.
MMA, ex-workers fined $1.25M
All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted
“The (Crown) was no longer reasonably convinced it could obtain a conviction against the company,” he said in an interview. “This closes the file.”
An unattended MMA-owned train carrying crude oil rolled down an incline before coming off the tracks in Lac-Megantic on July 6, 2013, exploded into a massive ball of fire and consumed much of the downtown core, killing the 47 people.
MMA currently exists as a post-bankruptcy corporate entity with no money of its own and with no physical or operational assets.
The defunct railway wasn’t even represented by lawyers during the criminal negligence proceedings.
Even if prosecutors had somehow obtained a guilty verdict, Benoit said the next steps would have been unclear.
Before the tragedy, MMA existed as two companies, one based in the United States and the other in Canada. The derailment sparked legal claims against MMA that forced it into bankruptcy proceedings on both sides of the border.
Attorney Robert Keach, the court-appointed trustee overseeing MMA’s bankruptcy proceedings in United States, told The Canadian Press on Tuesday the railroad has no money of its own.
As part of the bankruptcy proceedings in the United States and Canada, several companies tied to the disaster agreed to pay into a fund for victims and creditors of the tragedy, in exchange for legal immunity.
Keach said roughly $500 million was collected and most victims have received compensation. The remaining funds are already claimed by creditors and are being distributed by Keach and a Canadian trustee overseeing MMA’s bankruptcy proceedings in Canada.
Had MMA been convicted in Canada of criminal negligence and ordered to pay a fine, Keach explained, “in all likelihood (Canadian authorities) wouldn’t have gotten any money because most of it is earmarked for other people.”
Any conviction would have been against an entity that exists solely on paper “and doesn’t have any money that isn’t otherwise already claimed,” he said.
In January, a jury acquitted ex-MMA employees Richard Labrie, Tom Harding and Jean Demaitre of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people.
A month later, MMA and six of its former employees settled with federal prosecutors and were ordered to pay fines totalling $1.25 million, while one ex-railway worker was given a conditional jail term.
As of early that month, the company had paid only $400,000 — an amount set aside during bankruptcy proceedings for the U.S. branch of the company.
A lawyer with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said at the time the financial status of MMA was “precarious” and that it wasn’t clear how the court would collect the outstanding money.
Meanwhile, Lac-Megantic’s current mayor said in an interview Tuesday she was “stunned” by the Crown’s decision to abandon proceedings against MMA.
“Companies need to be held accountable,” Julie Morin said. “And we need to ensure they follow the rules and that their employees are properly trained.
“All I can say is that the news demonstrates clearly we have to continue fighting to ensure (railway security) laws are reformed so the safety of people is protected.”
— With files from Stephanie Marin
LAC-MEGANTIC TRAGEDY: No trial for bankrupt railway | Toronto Sun
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
April 3, 2018
Updated:
April 3, 2018 7:22 PM EDT
Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Mégantic, Que., Saturday, July 6, 2013. The railway at the heart of the Lac-Megantic tragedy five years ago will not stand trial. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
By Giuseppe Valiante, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — The bankrupt railway at the centre of the 2013 Lac-Megantic tragedy will not have to stand trial for criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people, Crown officials in Quebec said Tuesday.
After three ex-railway employees facing the same charge were acquitted in January, there was little chance of convicting their former employer, Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, said Crown spokesman Robert Benoit.
MMA, ex-workers fined $1.25M
All three Lac-Megantic accused acquitted
“The (Crown) was no longer reasonably convinced it could obtain a conviction against the company,” he said in an interview. “This closes the file.”
An unattended MMA-owned train carrying crude oil rolled down an incline before coming off the tracks in Lac-Megantic on July 6, 2013, exploded into a massive ball of fire and consumed much of the downtown core, killing the 47 people.
MMA currently exists as a post-bankruptcy corporate entity with no money of its own and with no physical or operational assets.
The defunct railway wasn’t even represented by lawyers during the criminal negligence proceedings.
Even if prosecutors had somehow obtained a guilty verdict, Benoit said the next steps would have been unclear.
Before the tragedy, MMA existed as two companies, one based in the United States and the other in Canada. The derailment sparked legal claims against MMA that forced it into bankruptcy proceedings on both sides of the border.
Attorney Robert Keach, the court-appointed trustee overseeing MMA’s bankruptcy proceedings in United States, told The Canadian Press on Tuesday the railroad has no money of its own.
As part of the bankruptcy proceedings in the United States and Canada, several companies tied to the disaster agreed to pay into a fund for victims and creditors of the tragedy, in exchange for legal immunity.
Keach said roughly $500 million was collected and most victims have received compensation. The remaining funds are already claimed by creditors and are being distributed by Keach and a Canadian trustee overseeing MMA’s bankruptcy proceedings in Canada.
Had MMA been convicted in Canada of criminal negligence and ordered to pay a fine, Keach explained, “in all likelihood (Canadian authorities) wouldn’t have gotten any money because most of it is earmarked for other people.”
Any conviction would have been against an entity that exists solely on paper “and doesn’t have any money that isn’t otherwise already claimed,” he said.
In January, a jury acquitted ex-MMA employees Richard Labrie, Tom Harding and Jean Demaitre of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people.
A month later, MMA and six of its former employees settled with federal prosecutors and were ordered to pay fines totalling $1.25 million, while one ex-railway worker was given a conditional jail term.
As of early that month, the company had paid only $400,000 — an amount set aside during bankruptcy proceedings for the U.S. branch of the company.
A lawyer with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said at the time the financial status of MMA was “precarious” and that it wasn’t clear how the court would collect the outstanding money.
Meanwhile, Lac-Megantic’s current mayor said in an interview Tuesday she was “stunned” by the Crown’s decision to abandon proceedings against MMA.
“Companies need to be held accountable,” Julie Morin said. “And we need to ensure they follow the rules and that their employees are properly trained.
“All I can say is that the news demonstrates clearly we have to continue fighting to ensure (railway security) laws are reformed so the safety of people is protected.”
— With files from Stephanie Marin
LAC-MEGANTIC TRAGEDY: No trial for bankrupt railway | Toronto Sun
Netflix accused of using footage of Lac-Megantic disaster in 'Bird Box'
Canadian Press
Published:
January 15, 2019
Updated:
January 15, 2019 7:44 PM EST
Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Megantic, Que., Saturday, July 6, 2013.Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — A day after learning that a science-fiction show on Netflix used actual footage of the Lac-Megantic rail disaster, the mayor of the Quebec town said she believes images of the tragedy were used in a second Netflix production, “Bird Box.”
Lac-Megantic Mayor Julie Morin wants the streaming service to take a look at its movie and TV catalogue to make sure no other production is using images of the tragedy as entertainment.
“I don’t know if this is happening all the time, but we are looking for assurances from Netflix that … they are going to remove them,” Morin said in an interview. “You can be sure we are going to follow up on this, and our citizens are on our side.”
High school ethics teacher Guillaume Bouchard was watching the most recent season of “Travelers” on Netflix over the holidays when he noticed something oddly familiar on his screen.
In the science-fiction series, a nuclear device had just exploded on the streets of London, but instead of seeing fires ravaging locations in the U.K. capital, Bouchard was looking at orange flames towering over a small town. At the end of the street, a black oil tanker burned in the background.
“I thought: No way. No way did they do that,” Bouchard said in an interview. He paused the show and after a quick internet search had his suspicions confirmed. The brief images on Netflix were taken from real-life footage of one of the deadliest disasters in recent Canadian history, when a train carrying crude oil derailed, exploded and killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic in 2013.
“I don’t know anyone who died in Lac-Megantic,” Bouchard said. “But if I was someone who lost someone close and I was home and I saw this, I don’t know how I would react. It wouldn’t be good.”
“Travelers,” created by Canadian Brad Wright, was shot in Vancouver and produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment Inc., originally in association with Netflix and Showcase. Netflix picked up the show as the exclusive distributor for the latest season, the third.
Carrie Mudd, president of Toronto-based Peacock Alley Entertainment, said her company acquired the footage from a stock image vendor called Pond 5, which is based in New York City, and they “weren’t aware of its specific source.” A request for comment from Pond 5 was not returned.
“We sincerely apologize and had no intention to dishonour the tragic events of 2013,” Mudd said in an email. “We are already working to replace the footage in the show.” As of Tuesday evening, the images were still part of the “Travelers” episode available for viewing on Netflix Canada.
A spokesman for Netflix did not want to be interviewed, but said the company has contacted Peacock Alley Entertainment, and confirmed the images would be removed. When asked by email to confirm “Bird Box” also used real-life footage from the disaster, the company said it needed time to look into it.
Morin said she first heard of the images used on “Travelers” Monday.
“We find that it’s really a lack of respect, to use these images as fiction and entertainment,” she said. “It’s hard enough for our citizens to see these images when they are used normally and respectfully on the news. Just imagine, to have them used as fiction, as if they were invented.”
On Tuesday, a Lac-Megantic citizen posted images on social media of the movie “Bird Box,” where in the early moments of the movie, a television newscast used the images for a few seconds to illustrate a town being under attack.
Morin said she viewed the footage posted by the citizen. “We see the images (of Lac-Megantic) clearly,” she said. The Canadian Press viewed the footage in “Bird Box”, which is identical to amateur video shot immediately after the derailment. The amateur video can be easily found online.
Bouchard said he felt it was his “duty as a citizen” to go public after identifying the Lac-Megantic content. He said he knows what happened was a mistake, but “it needed to be talked about.”
He said he also considers it a teachable moment he can use in his ethics class. “Naturally, I will talk about it one day (in school),” he said.
http://torontosun.com/news/national...-footage-of-lac-megantic-disaster-in-bird-box
Canadian Press
Published:
January 15, 2019
Updated:
January 15, 2019 7:44 PM EST
Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Megantic, Que., Saturday, July 6, 2013.Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — A day after learning that a science-fiction show on Netflix used actual footage of the Lac-Megantic rail disaster, the mayor of the Quebec town said she believes images of the tragedy were used in a second Netflix production, “Bird Box.”
Lac-Megantic Mayor Julie Morin wants the streaming service to take a look at its movie and TV catalogue to make sure no other production is using images of the tragedy as entertainment.
“I don’t know if this is happening all the time, but we are looking for assurances from Netflix that … they are going to remove them,” Morin said in an interview. “You can be sure we are going to follow up on this, and our citizens are on our side.”
High school ethics teacher Guillaume Bouchard was watching the most recent season of “Travelers” on Netflix over the holidays when he noticed something oddly familiar on his screen.
In the science-fiction series, a nuclear device had just exploded on the streets of London, but instead of seeing fires ravaging locations in the U.K. capital, Bouchard was looking at orange flames towering over a small town. At the end of the street, a black oil tanker burned in the background.
“I thought: No way. No way did they do that,” Bouchard said in an interview. He paused the show and after a quick internet search had his suspicions confirmed. The brief images on Netflix were taken from real-life footage of one of the deadliest disasters in recent Canadian history, when a train carrying crude oil derailed, exploded and killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic in 2013.
“I don’t know anyone who died in Lac-Megantic,” Bouchard said. “But if I was someone who lost someone close and I was home and I saw this, I don’t know how I would react. It wouldn’t be good.”
“Travelers,” created by Canadian Brad Wright, was shot in Vancouver and produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment Inc., originally in association with Netflix and Showcase. Netflix picked up the show as the exclusive distributor for the latest season, the third.
Carrie Mudd, president of Toronto-based Peacock Alley Entertainment, said her company acquired the footage from a stock image vendor called Pond 5, which is based in New York City, and they “weren’t aware of its specific source.” A request for comment from Pond 5 was not returned.
“We sincerely apologize and had no intention to dishonour the tragic events of 2013,” Mudd said in an email. “We are already working to replace the footage in the show.” As of Tuesday evening, the images were still part of the “Travelers” episode available for viewing on Netflix Canada.
A spokesman for Netflix did not want to be interviewed, but said the company has contacted Peacock Alley Entertainment, and confirmed the images would be removed. When asked by email to confirm “Bird Box” also used real-life footage from the disaster, the company said it needed time to look into it.
Morin said she first heard of the images used on “Travelers” Monday.
“We find that it’s really a lack of respect, to use these images as fiction and entertainment,” she said. “It’s hard enough for our citizens to see these images when they are used normally and respectfully on the news. Just imagine, to have them used as fiction, as if they were invented.”
On Tuesday, a Lac-Megantic citizen posted images on social media of the movie “Bird Box,” where in the early moments of the movie, a television newscast used the images for a few seconds to illustrate a town being under attack.
Morin said she viewed the footage posted by the citizen. “We see the images (of Lac-Megantic) clearly,” she said. The Canadian Press viewed the footage in “Bird Box”, which is identical to amateur video shot immediately after the derailment. The amateur video can be easily found online.
Bouchard said he felt it was his “duty as a citizen” to go public after identifying the Lac-Megantic content. He said he knows what happened was a mistake, but “it needed to be talked about.”
He said he also considers it a teachable moment he can use in his ethics class. “Naturally, I will talk about it one day (in school),” he said.
http://torontosun.com/news/national...-footage-of-lac-megantic-disaster-in-bird-box
Netflix has no plans to cut Lac-Megantic disaster footage from 'Bird Box'
Associated Press
Published:
January 17, 2019
Updated:
January 17, 2019 6:00 PM EST
MONTREAL — Netflix is refusing to remove from its hit movie Bird Box footage of the rail explosion that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, despite an appeal from the town’s mayor.
But the streaming company has said it will ensure no future productions on its platform use images of the disaster for entertainment, according to Lac-Megantic Mayor Julie Morin, who spoke to a Netflix representative Thursday.
Netflix accused of using footage of Lac-Megantic disaster in ‘Bird Box’
Teen driver does ’Bird Box’ challenge; results were ’predictable’: Cops
Netflix raises movie-viewership curtain with ’Bird Box’
Meanwhile, the head of the company that sold the images of the Lac-Megantic disaster to the producers of Bird Box, said he is “devastated” by the way the footage was used.
“We didn’t do all we could on our end to make sure that people understood the sensitive nature of the content, because what happened is not appropriate,” Jason Teichman, the CEO of New York City-based Pond5, said in an interview Thursday.
Morin said in a statement she is satisfied Netflix has “committed to reflect with their partners on the use of images so that this situation is not repeated.” She said she “sensed a sensitivity to the recovery of our citizens.”
Town spokeswoman Karine Dube said the Netflix representative called the mayor unsolicited Thursday morning and told her the company would not be removing the images from Bird Box.
At least two dramas currently on Netflix’s Canadian platform, including Bird Box, briefly use actual footage of the 2013 derailment. Morin told The Canadian Press Tuesday that she wanted the company to review its catalogue and remove the images. She said use of the videos showed a lack of respect and had upset residents, many of whom are suffering post-traumatic stress.
Pond5 sold footage of the burning town to Bird Box and another Netflix production, Travelers. Teichman said his company doesn’t hold the rights to the 14 million video clips in its global content catalogue, which is accessible through its website. Rather, he said, Pond5 licenses footage from people such as historians, filmmakers and journalists and splits the revenue 50-50 when the images are sold.
He wouldn’t say who shot the Lac-Megantic video, citing privacy concerns. He said his company has contacted customers who purchased any related clips of Lac-Megantic. It held “very clear conversations so that there was zero ambiguity regarding the sensitive nature of the content so that there can be no room for misunderstanding,” he said.
But he recognized that his company doesn’t control the artistic direction of the people who purchase his content. “We don’t police them, and we don’t censor what they do,” he said. “We’re going to make the efforts to do what we can on our end, to ensure (the footage) is being used as appropriately as possible.”
Netflix spokespeople have declined repeated requests for comment on the controversy.
http://torontosun.com/entertainment...t-lac-megantic-disaster-footage-from-bird-box
Associated Press
Published:
January 17, 2019
Updated:
January 17, 2019 6:00 PM EST
MONTREAL — Netflix is refusing to remove from its hit movie Bird Box footage of the rail explosion that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, despite an appeal from the town’s mayor.
But the streaming company has said it will ensure no future productions on its platform use images of the disaster for entertainment, according to Lac-Megantic Mayor Julie Morin, who spoke to a Netflix representative Thursday.
Netflix accused of using footage of Lac-Megantic disaster in ‘Bird Box’
Teen driver does ’Bird Box’ challenge; results were ’predictable’: Cops
Netflix raises movie-viewership curtain with ’Bird Box’
Meanwhile, the head of the company that sold the images of the Lac-Megantic disaster to the producers of Bird Box, said he is “devastated” by the way the footage was used.
“We didn’t do all we could on our end to make sure that people understood the sensitive nature of the content, because what happened is not appropriate,” Jason Teichman, the CEO of New York City-based Pond5, said in an interview Thursday.
Morin said in a statement she is satisfied Netflix has “committed to reflect with their partners on the use of images so that this situation is not repeated.” She said she “sensed a sensitivity to the recovery of our citizens.”
Town spokeswoman Karine Dube said the Netflix representative called the mayor unsolicited Thursday morning and told her the company would not be removing the images from Bird Box.
At least two dramas currently on Netflix’s Canadian platform, including Bird Box, briefly use actual footage of the 2013 derailment. Morin told The Canadian Press Tuesday that she wanted the company to review its catalogue and remove the images. She said use of the videos showed a lack of respect and had upset residents, many of whom are suffering post-traumatic stress.
Pond5 sold footage of the burning town to Bird Box and another Netflix production, Travelers. Teichman said his company doesn’t hold the rights to the 14 million video clips in its global content catalogue, which is accessible through its website. Rather, he said, Pond5 licenses footage from people such as historians, filmmakers and journalists and splits the revenue 50-50 when the images are sold.
He wouldn’t say who shot the Lac-Megantic video, citing privacy concerns. He said his company has contacted customers who purchased any related clips of Lac-Megantic. It held “very clear conversations so that there was zero ambiguity regarding the sensitive nature of the content so that there can be no room for misunderstanding,” he said.
But he recognized that his company doesn’t control the artistic direction of the people who purchase his content. “We don’t police them, and we don’t censor what they do,” he said. “We’re going to make the efforts to do what we can on our end, to ensure (the footage) is being used as appropriately as possible.”
Netflix spokespeople have declined repeated requests for comment on the controversy.
http://torontosun.com/entertainment...t-lac-megantic-disaster-footage-from-bird-box
Netflix apologizes for using Lac-Megantic footage in ’Bird Box’
Canadian Press
Published:
January 22, 2019
Updated:
January 22, 2019 5:43 PM EST
Netflix Releases Staggering Viewership...
featured by
MONTREAL — Netflix is apologizing to the people of Lac-Megantic after actual footage of the 2013 rail disaster that devastated the town was used in dramas on the streaming service.
The company says it had not been aware of the source of the footage used briefly in the hit movie “Bird Box” and the series “Travelers.” The images show the explosion that killed 47 people when an oil-laden train derailed in the middle of downtown.
“We regret any pain caused to the Lac-Megantic community and have expressed this directly to Mayor Julie Morin,” the letter addressed to Quebec Culture Minister Nathalie Roy said. Dated Monday, it is signed by Corie Wright, Netflix Inc. director of public policy.
The company says it will take steps to avoid use of images from Lac-Megantic or any similar stock footage in future productions. But it says that since use of stock footage is so widespread on Netflix, it cannot make changes to “finished content.”
Teen driver does ’Bird Box’ challenge; results were ’predictable’: Cop
Netflix raises movie-viewership curtain with ’Bird Box’
Roy wrote to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings last Friday asking that the footage be removed from the dramatic productions and used only in documentaries. She said it was unacceptable to use human tragedies for entertainment purposes.
Netflix has refused to remove the footage from “Bird Box,”despite appeals from Roy and Morin. The producers of “Travelers” have said they are working replace the Lac-Megantic images in their show.
In an emailed statement, Roy welcomed Netflix’s apology and its recognition of its mistake. “However, we find it regrettable that the company is maintaining its decision not to remove the images of this tragedy from the film ’Bird Box,’ when it has already accepted to do so for another of its series, which in our eyes is illogical,” she said.
http://torontosun.com/entertainment...es-for-using-lac-megantic-footage-in-bird-box
Canadian Press
Published:
January 22, 2019
Updated:
January 22, 2019 5:43 PM EST
Netflix Releases Staggering Viewership...
featured by
MONTREAL — Netflix is apologizing to the people of Lac-Megantic after actual footage of the 2013 rail disaster that devastated the town was used in dramas on the streaming service.
The company says it had not been aware of the source of the footage used briefly in the hit movie “Bird Box” and the series “Travelers.” The images show the explosion that killed 47 people when an oil-laden train derailed in the middle of downtown.
“We regret any pain caused to the Lac-Megantic community and have expressed this directly to Mayor Julie Morin,” the letter addressed to Quebec Culture Minister Nathalie Roy said. Dated Monday, it is signed by Corie Wright, Netflix Inc. director of public policy.
The company says it will take steps to avoid use of images from Lac-Megantic or any similar stock footage in future productions. But it says that since use of stock footage is so widespread on Netflix, it cannot make changes to “finished content.”
Teen driver does ’Bird Box’ challenge; results were ’predictable’: Cop
Netflix raises movie-viewership curtain with ’Bird Box’
Roy wrote to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings last Friday asking that the footage be removed from the dramatic productions and used only in documentaries. She said it was unacceptable to use human tragedies for entertainment purposes.
Netflix has refused to remove the footage from “Bird Box,”despite appeals from Roy and Morin. The producers of “Travelers” have said they are working replace the Lac-Megantic images in their show.
In an emailed statement, Roy welcomed Netflix’s apology and its recognition of its mistake. “However, we find it regrettable that the company is maintaining its decision not to remove the images of this tragedy from the film ’Bird Box,’ when it has already accepted to do so for another of its series, which in our eyes is illogical,” she said.
http://torontosun.com/entertainment...es-for-using-lac-megantic-footage-in-bird-box
It is North American business as usual.
Bankruptcy is the get out of jail free card.
Look at PG&E in California faced with massive losses on the fires. What do they do?
Chapter 11 and bonuses all around for the board. Meanwhile the tax payer will take care of everything as they always do in capitalist societies.
Bankruptcy is the get out of jail free card.
Look at PG&E in California faced with massive losses on the fires. What do they do?
Chapter 11 and bonuses all around for the board. Meanwhile the tax payer will take care of everything as they always do in capitalist societies.
POOR HYPOCRITE HOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He really should move to Cuba- but the Comrades there will not indulge him as Cdn LIE-berals do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hoid is lost among us capitalists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is so DELUDED that he thinks Our idiot Boy buying the Kinder Morgan pipeline is some sort of VIRTUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our idiot Boy has told us the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He TRULY WANTS to prevent us from ever using oil for any purpose in the future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Without ANY REGARD for what will replace it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or how many lives wll be devastated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People living in old folks homes have a murder rate 4 times higher than what Toronto is currently enduring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yet LIE-berals soldier on with their poisoned policies without regard for the growing army of WORRIED AND ANGRY CDNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIE-berals THINK the silent majority will remain silent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been harshly critical of our civil service union Hogs and they dont like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Various studies indicate that Hogs earn one third more than workers doing comparable work in private sector!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That means a Hog electrician earns one third more than an electrician in the private sector!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How can Hogs justify such a disparity???????????????????????????????????
They cannot - so they turn to CENSORSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got the following question from a Hog a while back:
“The Unions, please do tell this Unionized Worker exactly what we get that you do not? Better pay for specialized employment sure, that came from Education and learning skills. sorry bagging groceries or asking if people want fries with their dollar pop doesn't pay 14/hr as its meant to be a students job not a career!
This is typical Hog arrogance speaking! First, Hog workshops are CLOSED to ordinary people! Becoming a HOG requires the same sort of credentials as are required to become ROYALTY! One MUST be BORN into the exalted and grossly entitled position-NO random citizens need apply! Its best if you have a parent who is a Hog of long standing with the union, though basically any relative by blood or marriage in good enough standing with union executives can probably get you in....depending on the level of competition from other equally entitled Royal relatives.....some Hogs are more equal than others you know and some Hog jobs are more in demand!
In a private workplace the boss decides which employee candidates he thinks will best fit his organizational needs and the boss makes HIS choice based on efficiency and company bottom line. The existing employees have no real say in who is hired. This is in SHARP contrast to HOG hiring policy which requires that you serve an apprenticeship/probationary period during which time the union and your fellow employees will pass judgement on you.....if you are judged unsuitable-that is-judged unsympathetic to Hog philosophy and their endless entitlements (in other words if you have a conscience and a sense of fair play) you will NOT be offered long term employment, rather, you will be terminated as quickly as possible-for the good of the HOGS!
The typical Hog also likes to speak of special skills possessed by Working Family members. And what skills might a garbage man have, pray tell? Except for a strong stomach and limited sense of smell? But Hogs have no shame-they will fight like wild Boars for the infamous “jobs for life” clause for garbage men! At this point a garbage man does not even need a strong back-the machines do most of the heavy lifting of bins....and we all know how quick they are to leave behind any bags and bundles they consider too large or inconvenient to handle! The Hog likes to sneer at people bagging groceries, serving drinks and such-stupid adults (so he says) trying to live on wages from a `kids temporary` job....and then sets up his garbage men Hog allies as exalted labourers doing `skilled` work.....they are not doing a kids job, they are doing a job that used to be done by CONVICTS on a chain gang-picking up waste in public places, clearing roads and such!
How about the now nearly obsolete post man? Greedy Hogs all and nothing but overgrown children with a fancy paper route! A combination of technology and THEIR OWN ENDLESS GREED killed them off!!! In 1969, the letter carrier union president came on the radio to crow (after another LONG mail strike in a world without e-mail or UPS/Fedex) “that Cdn letter carriers are now the best compensated civil servants on the planet”! How is that working out for you Hogs now that your stranglehold on ALL mail and parcel delivery is ended?
And the typical clerk filing papers in a government office? What special skills do THEY bring to the job? Other than an ability to dream up endless “entitlements” that are bankrupting the country!
In the private sector a clerk who fails to file all documents in a timely manner may be deemed lazy and be FIRED. But a Hog clerk grieves to the union and is judged to be over worked and in need of assistance....laziness rewarded! Government work is a race `WON` by the slowest!
Street sweepers....well....SOME skill needed there I guess? Bad form to accidentally suck up a sleeping homeless person?
Or the guy who runs the Zamboni? How much university training is required to drive the machine around the ice rink and avoid bumping into the boards or getting the machine stuck behind the net?
How about employees of the Parks Department? Several years back there was a MAJOR battle between parks employees in a certain Cdn city and some civic minded old Grannies! The city decreed they had no time or money to plant flowers that spring in a local park-so the beds were left empty and filling with weeds. And some Grannies-using their own time and THEIR OWN MONEY pulled weeds and planted some flowers. How much university training is required to plant flowers and pull weeds? Even an old Granny can do it! And how ARROGANT a HOG must you be to threaten to SUE the Grannies for “making unauthorized alterations to the park”? Fortunately senior union officials realized the scale of the public relations black eye their members were building and ordered a retreat.....Granny CAN now plant flowers in the neglected park if she wishes......
The City of Toronto has a group of employees whose job it is to regularly visit each and every public school and read the thermostats and adjust furnace settings IF NECESSARY. We pay school principles over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR-NOT INCLUDING THE FABULOUS PENSION AND ASSORTED OTHER PERKS to train and keep safe our children ......and yes, some of the school heating equipment is so old and rickety that it should not be tampered with by amateurs- and dilapidated schools are a rant for another day- but the school board feels we cannot trust school principles to report in if the school feels too hot or too cold-some Hog has to come out especially to take the school temperature! And of course the school board COULD HAVE installed more modern and less temperamental equipment....IF ONLY they had not wasted ALL that money on HOG GRAVY!!!!
And how important is the job of thermostat setter? One of them got fired for spending 4-6 HOURS a day-2-4 DAYS each week taking judo lessons DURING company time! The Hog finally got fired because he was caught so often that it was making city supervisors (and the other thermostat setters) look bad! Yeah, high skill job there and a REAL NEED for the position too if you can go `missing for days or weeks on end and its private citizens who rat you out to your boss because they are sick of seeing your truck parked on their street while you goof off!!
How about Metrolinx....that collection of Hog dreamers endlessly planning beautiful new transit systems that will NEVER BE BUILT because there is NO MONEY- thanks to GREEDY HOGS. There could have been a couple more stations built on the Shepard subway line by now if the money had been used for that instead of those endless studies ! I am sure it takes education to plan out a transit line.....but what education does it take to shrug and say: sorry, we already have a DOZEN fine studies that are ALL USELESS because we have NO MONEY- but Hogs keep cranking out studies anyway! And its not as if the studies were accurate-in its first year of operation the Shepard Line carried twice as many customers as planned- and look at the line of brand new condominiums along that stub Shepard line- if you build it they will come! Hogs are just Too clever for their own good!!!!
And its not like the City Planner studies are USEFUL either! Anybody remember Ataratiri? That wonderful new housing complex and grand new planned community that was to be built in the Portlands? A BILLION DOLLARS (in 1980`s cash) spent to evict heavy industries and expropriate land- and in the end....NOTHING!!! Thanks to a century of use by heavy industry the land is too polluted to live on- UNLESS BILLIONS MORE DOLLARS (which government does not have) are spent cleaning up pollution- but city planners GOT PAID for that useless plan! City Hogs wasted a billion dollars to drive out businesses that were making a profit, providing jobs and paying taxes- and replaced them with NOTHING!
The land now sits empty and essentially abandoned....while the city schemes (and spends MORE on plans) to make some use of the land.....like turning some of it into an 8 lane boulevard.....trashing the commute times of anybody who uses either Lakeshore Blvd OR Gardiner Expressway! Take TWELVE LANES of traffic and squeeze them into EIGHT and then add a pack of new stop lights and LOWER SPEED LIMITS- here are two questions for the oh so clever Hogs: how much will traffic REALLY and truthfully be impeded in down town Toronto- and do you give a sh+t about it? WE KNOW YOUR ANSWER!!!!
How about the Harbour Commission? More Hogs who have simply inherited a large hole filled with water at the south end of the city- along with a JOB FOR LIFE scoping out the beach babes and scheming for- well- since they have NOT done ANYTHING of note in decades I guess most of their scheming relates to finding ways to fly under the radar and keep their entitlements!
Or how about those Toronto paramedics? It does take skill and education to do that job well -as well as a strong stomach! But WHY are they just now SUDDENLY WHINING about their PTSD problems? They are really quite clever to be crying about how hard and horrible their jobs are- right in the middle of contract negotiations. One might almost think they had decided to put on a show to seek sympathy? In this case PTSD CLEARLY MEANS Petty Tyrants Seeking Dollars!!!! And they think we are not smart enough to see through this crap?
The Hogs ruin the economy with their endless demands-aided and abetted by insanely tax happy Lie-beral politicians who could not qualify as dog catcher without Hog support and make it almost impossible for young people to get an education-or a decent job in our tax choked economy-students are being turned into cash cows for Lie-beral government and then Hogs want to mock ordinary people for bagging their groceries as it’s the only work available? Too bad Hogs don’t have HALF the work ethic of the average supermarket cashier!
It wasn't bought for you and me, it was bought for our Charter specific superior race.
As a stakeholder I want every other stakeholder to decide what they want to do with their share.
Mine isn't for sale to a superior race.
POOR STUPID LIE-berals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They do everything in their power to BREAK anything democratic or capitalist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then when they succeed in breaking something then they point and say: "LOOK- the stupid thing is broken so we dont need it any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIE-beral hypocrisy is an incredibly poisoned program!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!