Judge rules RCMP don’t have to share records from fatal B.C. ammonia leak

FERNIE, B.C. – A judge has ruled that police do not have to turn over records seized during an investigation into a fatal ammonia leak at an ice rink in southeastern British Columbia.

The City of Fernie asked the provincial court of B.C. to force RCMP to give it copies of two log books taken from the arena after three people died at the ice rink in October.

The city argued municipal officials need access to the records to determine what went wrong, in part because two city employees who died were the most knowledgeable about the operation and maintenance of the arena.

The court heard that RCMP took possession of the log books from the arena after the deaths and say that sharing the records could jeopardize the criminal investigation.

Mounties claimed during the hearing in December that the city could be a possible suspect in the criminal investigation because it owns and operates the arena, though no changes have been laid.

Justice Lynal Doerksen has ruled that police do not have to copy the log books because it would not be in the public interest to jeopardize the investigation.