Ferry Tragedy Spurs Safety Rules -- 14 Safeguards Sought `With Lightning Speed'

VANCOUVER, B.C. - New safety measures should ensure a ferry-loading accident like the one that killed two Alberta tourists last month never happens again, a British Columbia Cabinet minister says.

Less than an hour after receiving the findings of former B.C. Appeal Court Chief Justice Nathan Nemetz's inquiry Friday, Finance Minister Glen Clark promised the 14 recommendations would be implemented "with lightning speed."

"This was a system failure," said Clark, the minister responsible for the B.C. Ferry Corp.

"I think we have to be careful to note that there was not just an individual who made a mistake here. There was a problem with the system by which loading and unloading was done and I think that these recommendations effectively remedy that problem."

Lorraine Askew, 39, of Edson, Alberta, and her daughter Tara-Leigh, 10, died Aug. 13 when their minivan fell into the water as the Queen of New Westminster pulled away from the B.C. Ferry terminal at Nanaimo on Vancouver Island while vehicles were still being loaded on the upper deck.

Another Askew daughter, Dawn, 13, remains in critical condition in Children's Hospital in Vancouver. The dead woman's husband, Bruce Askew, 40, suffered a broken neck but is recovering.

Clark said the public can be assured that once the recommendations are implemented, it would be "almost impossible for this kind of loading accident to take place."

Nemetz heard seven days of testimony before submitting a 71-page report.

One major recommendation called for a special light bulb to be installed in the wheelhouse of ferries. The bulb would only light up when ferry employees on the passenger ramp, upper car deck ramp and lower car deck ramp had all cleared their areas for departure by turning a key-switch.

Nemetz stressed it was his job to assess safety procedures - not to determine who was to blame.

He urged the government to set up a task force on ferry scheduling.

Brett Joyce, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, told the inquiry that captains of vessels are under immense pressure to arrive and leave terminals on time - pressure that puts scheduling ahead of safety.

"I think it essential that the corporation set up a task force including management, the union and one or two outside persons to review the issue of scheduling and its relation to safety," Nemetz said.

Meanwhile, the surviving members of the Askew family are planning to launch a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the corporation, said Vancouver lawyer Jay Straith.

But Straith said he was hopeful the matter could be settled out of court.

He said he was satisfied with the inquiry and Nemetz's recommendations, particularly one suggesting an ongoing review of safety procedures.