Lessons learned from a miner's death: miner's family hopes inquest can prevent future fatalities.

• Author: Migneault, Jonathan
• Position: Mining

Stephen Perry's daughter hopes the 10 recommendations a five-person jury made at the end of an inquest into his death will ensure other families don't have to go through the loss she has experienced.

"It's been very difficult," said Brittany Boyd-Perry. "I feel nobody should have to go through it."

Perry was killed on Jan. 29, 2012, when a 14-tonne wedge of rock dislodged from the 36 West rock face at the 4,215-foot level of Vale's Coleman Mine in Sudbury and struck him in the head and chest.

The jury determined Feb. 25 that the death was accidental.

Over three days of testimony, witnesses said Perry and his experienced colleagues followed all the rules and procedures in place to protect their safety at the time.

But to ensure those regulations and best practices are safer, the jury made 10 recommendations, that ranged from requiring ground control engineers assess support at every rock face in a mine, to amending Ministry of Labour regulations around miners working alone.

"I'm very happy with the recommendations," said Boyd-Perry.

Throughout the inquest, Perry's colleagues spoke highly of his work ethic and commitment to safety when working underground.

"He was a great man," his daughter said. "He worked hard, and was a great example of someone who worked really safe."

One of the more important recommendations for the family was that Ontario's inquest process be reviewed to shorten the time frames between fatalities and mining inquest start dates.

In his testimony on Feb. 23, Ministry of Labour inspector Shaun Carter said he has participated in seven inquests during his career, and it was not uncommon for four years or more to pass after the person's death before an inquest had begun.

"The quicker the inquest happens, the less you have to rehash this stuff," said Tom Perry, Stephen Perry's brother. "Four years is a ridiculously long time."

Tom said the family was initially told it would take around two years after his brother's death for the inquest to start, but that timeline doubled.

"We're just so happy it's over," Tom said. "The recommendations just blew our minds. We're just so happy for the mining community. It's very unlikely anybody will be hurt at the face anymore."

Rick Bertrand, president of United Steelworkers Local 6500, said he was also happy with the jury's 10 recommendations and hopes they can get implemented as soon as possible.

After Perry's death, the United Steelworkers and Vale conducted a joint investigation, and...