Judge rejects defence request for more specifics of Come By Chance safety charges | CBC News

Two companies have lost their bids to get more details about workplace safety charges laid against them after a fatal flash fire at the Come By Chance refinery.

Braya Renewable Fuels (Newfoundland) GP Incorporated and Lorneville Mechanical Contractors said they needed more specifics from the Crown describing how alleged offences were committed.

The firms had submitted applications seeking further particulars of the charges, arguing that was required for a fair trial.

“It is necessary to define the specifics of what the Crown is alleging and what the Crown is seeking to prove,” lawyer David Eaton, representing Braya, said at a January hearing on the matter.

Lorneville aligned with Braya.

“It’s very important to identify, in these types of charges, what are the actual facts, or what are the acts or failures to act that are being relied upon to constitute the charge,” Greg Anthony, Lorneville’s lawyer, told the court earlier this year.

“Because otherwise, the accused is left to speculate.”

Crown prosecutor Shawn Patten, meanwhile, had argued that the defendants had what they needed to fully understand the allegations against them.

In a decision issued Tuesday afternoon, Judge Paul Noble dismissed the applications by the companies, ruling that they had not met the necessary legal test.

Braya is facing 10 occupational health and safety charges after a fatal explosion at the refinery in Come By Chance in 2022.

Another charge initially laid against Braya was dropped earlier this year.

Lorneville is facing three occupational health and safety counts.

One worker — Shawn Peddle of Clarenville — died in hospital six weeks after the blast. Seven other workers were seriously injured.

Trial dates have been set for the fall, running from mid-October through to the last week of November.

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