Relatives of dead Quebec sealers suing Canadian Coast Guard for $2.7 million
Published Monday November 23rd, 2009
MONTREAL - The relatives of three dead Quebec sealers and the two lone survivors of a boat that capsized during a towing operation are suing the Canadian Coast Guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada for $2.7 million.
Four hunters from Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., were killed when the L'Acadien II sank in March 2008 off Cape Breton as the rudderless ship was being towed through the thick ice by a coast guard vessel.
Bruno Bourque, the captain of the L'Acadien II, and fellow sealers Marc-Andre Deraspe, Gilles Leblanc and Carl Aucoin drowned when their 12-metre-long trawler capsized after it slammed into thick ice.
Nineteen people, including the two survivors of the tragedy and 17 relatives of the victims, allege the coast guard was negligent and didn't do enough to ensure the safety of the L'Acadien II crew.
Bourque's fishing company is also involved in the suit.
Leblanc's family is filing a suit separately from the initial group.
The $2.7-million lawsuit, filed in Federal Court in early November, alleges numerous errors were made by the Canadian Coast Guard the night the Sir William Alexander was dispatched to help the sealing boat.
The suit alleges that communication lapses caused delays in the icebreaker getting to the L'Acadien II. The suit also alleges the coast guard did not follow procedure by allowing the doomed crew to stay aboard the vessel.
"Despite the fact an agent with the The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) told the captain of the (Sir) William Alexander that the crew should be removed, this possibility was never discussed between the captain of L'Acadien II and the officer of the Sir William Alexander," the statement of claim reads.
"While the safety and the lives of the crew (of the L'Acadien II) were threatened, the officers aboard the Sir William Alexander decided the priority was to focus on the administrative procedure of getting a liability waiver instead of insuring the security of the L'Acadien II's crew."
The suit also alleges that lookouts who were supervising the tow were on a radio frequency unknown to the L'Acadien II and that no communication link was established with the disabled ship.
It also alleges the lookouts didn't move quickly enough in alerting the bridge and severing the line when the boat swerved and flipped.
The suit also alleges the coast guard made arrangements in English only, while the L'Acadien II crew spoke only French. It also states it took search and rescue divers took too long to get to the scene.
The boat flipped and water rushed into the cabin of the overturned vessel, where most of the men had retired to their bunks to get some rest.
Deraspe, Leblanc and Bourque were unable to escape and were later found drowned. Aucoin's body was never recovered.
Two sealers on board - Francis Claude Deraspe and Bourque's son, Bruno-Pierre - survived after they were pulled from the frigid Gulf of St. Lawrence waters by another boat. They are part of the lawsuit.
Denis Huet, a lawyer who is representing both survivors, the Bourque family and the company that owns the sealing boat, wouldn't comment now that the case is before the courts.
A spokeswoman for the DFO invoked the same reason in saying the department had no comment Monday.
A number of reports published since March 2008 have recommended the coast guard adopt changes to procedures and protocol when it comes to towing small vessels through ice.
The plaintiffs are also asking that the case be heard in Gaspe, the closest judicial district to the remote archipelago where the families and survivors still reside.
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