Verdict expected this afternoon in First Nickel, Taurus Drilling case

A verdict is expected today in the trial against First Nickel and Taurus Drilling.

Marc Methe and Norm Bisaillon both contract workers with Taurus Drilling died after a fall of ground at Lockerby Mine in 2014. First Nickel owned the mine at the time, but went into receivership the following year.

The companies are now facing 12 charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

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Final submissions were heard at the Sudbury courthouse this week, from Taurus defence lawyer John Illingworth and Ministry of Labour lawyer Dave McCaskill. First Nickel has not appeared in court to offer a defence, and is being tried in absentia.

On Wednesday, McCaskill described First Nickel's ground control plan as "slapdash and improper." He said the system for reporting ground conditions in the mine was not effective, especially as those conditions changed over time.

Testimony detailed problems prior to collapse

Last summer, the court heard testimony from ministry engineer Mike Kat about a number of problems leading up to the deaths of Methe and Bisaillon.

Several witnesses described an excessive amount of water in the mine, and voicedconcerns about weak structural supports. The court also heard evidence of blasting misfires in the months prior to the collapse.

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McCaskill told the court in addition to the evidence against First Nickel, the company failed to prove it did its due diligence by not being present in court.

He also called for convictions against Taurus Drilling, arguing that there were reasonable steps the company could've taken to address the blasting misfires and improve communications about ground conditions.

"Taurus should shoulder its share of the blame," McCaskill said.

Taurus did everything it reasonably could, defense said

In his final submissions on Wednesday, Illingworth argued that First Nickel carried most of the responsibility as the mine's owner.

"We're all in an agreement that it was time bomb," he said, describing the conditions in the mine that preceeded the collapse.

But Illingworth said Taurus did everything it reasonably could to ensure the safety of workers, based on what it knew at the time.

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He told the court the company did a thorough inspection of the site and made recommendations to First Nickel prior to sending in workers. Illingworth also explained that Taurus recommended explosive boosters and flagged issues with defective powder to address the problem of misfires.

"At all steps, it's clear that Taurus is proactively identifying and trying to rectify problems," he said.

Justice David Stone, who is presiding over the case, said he hopes to deliver his final verdict by this afternoon.