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Coroner's jury presses for safety inspections of municipal vehicles

"It's everybody's wish to create a safer environment for children and families and pedestrians"

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Nutchutook Joepee, a City of Iqaluit employee, reloads a sewage hose into the truck this week, while his driver stayed in the cab watching for pedestrians. Their teamwork is part of a public works safety policy. (PHOTO BY GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS)

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The territorial government faces mounting pressure to launch a territory-wide inspection regime for heavy equipment like sewage and water trucks, after a coroner's inquest concluded last week.

The jury made the recommendation on Jan. 28 at an inquest into fatal heavy equipment accidents that killed two children and two adults in Nunavut over the past four years.

Each accident involved municipal vehicles, including two sewage trucks, a front-loader, and a snowplow.

Evidence from the week-long inquest revealed that one sewage truck was in a state of disrepair, and the snow-plow didn't have a working alarm to warn pedestrians when it was backing up. Both were operated by Iqaluit city drivers.

Mark Hall, Iqaluit's director of public works, said some recommendations are already in place in Nunavut's capital, or will be implemented soon.

But Hall said Iqaluit and the communities need the GN to establish and enforce recommended safety standards for drivers and heavy equipment across the territory. This move would include starting regular inspections of heavy equipment in all the communities.

"It's an excellent recommendation by the jury that the government of Nunavut buy into this process," Hall said. "It affirms our position."

However, under current legislation, the GN has no legal obligation to follow-up on any of the jury's recommendations.

Alex Campbell, deputy minister of the GN's department of economic development and transportation, said the government still needed to evaluate what recommendations they can implement.

"We take the recommendations very seriously," Campbell said. "Lives have been lost in the process, so we will do due diligence."

The City of Iqaluit has already battled with the GN to create a program for regular inspections.

During the inquest, Hall testified that Iqaluit drivers and mechanics are inspecting vehicles more often now than last year, when he took over Iqaluit's troubled public work department last year.

But he said inspections by an independent third-party were "essential" to keep the public safe.

Hall testified that so far, the GN has refused, claiming it's a municipal responsibility to ensure their heavy equipment is kept in good condition.

The six-man jury came up with nine other recommendations, for the GN, the City of Iqaluit and the Municipal Training Organization, and the Nunavut Association of Municipalities.

They include:

• a public safety campaign, involving posters, video, and billboards, aimed at children and their parents;
• using flagmen and/or barriers when heavy equipment is working in a confined area;
• installing safety equipment on water and sewage trucks, like convex mirrors on the front, a camera on the back, and a strobe light and back-up alarm on top.

The jury said all heavy equipment should have a strobe light on the back, with a simultaneous alarm. They also should have a camera on the back, with the monitor in the cab of the vehicle.

The jury said there is an "urgent" need for training courses on how to operate and maintain heavy equipment and heavy trucks. They added that the training should be tailored to Nunavut's environmental conditions.

In its verdict, the jury insisted that the GN should hire more than one inspector. Training is reportedly underway to add four more inspectors to government staff.

The jury aimed some specific recommendations at the City of Iqaluit and NAM. They highlighted the need for walkways and trails to separate pedestrians and vehicles. City officials said the walkway project is currently being tested with a "safety strip" near the Northmart store.

According to the recommendations, Iqaluit should hire a safety officer to improve and maintain work procedures. Administration says they've tried to find a new employee to do this for six months, but lose potential candidates to the higher-paying GN.

Lynda Gunn, the CEO of NAM, said her organization is ready to work with others to implement the recommendations, namely by offering expertise from NAMIX, the territory's municipal insurance exchange, to create new legislation.

"It's everybody's wish to create a safer environment for children and families and pedestrians in the communities," Gunn said. "If all the interested parties band together, then some good should be able to come of this."

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