Appeal from an order staying the public hearings of a provincial inquiry into a fatal mine explosion while criminal proceedings against certain mine managers were pending.
The Court held that the inquiry served a legitimate and pressing public purpose, and that the accused managers were compellable witnesses subject to constitutional protections against use of their testimony and derivative evidence.
The Court rejected a broad stay as the appropriate remedy for anticipated prejudice, emphasizing that fair trial concerns from publicity ordinarily should be addressed through narrower measures such as publication restrictions and by the commissioner in the first instance.
The appeal was allowed and the stay of the public hearings was set aside.
