Upcoming trial looms over 2nd anniversary of Eastway explosion that killed 6

Rick Bastien never made it home after the Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter blast that also killed five of his co-workers, but Louise Martel still talks to him every day.

Bastien's fiancée and partner of 10 years, Martel has kept the 57-year-old welder-fabricator's ashes by her bedside at the home they shared in Luskville, Que.

"Sometimes I feel like he answers me," she said of her daily prayers and conversations with Bastien. "But I don't know if it's him or just me thinking he's there."

Saturday marks two years since the Jan. 13, 2022, explosion and fire at the south Ottawa tanker manufacturer.

Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson and Russell McLellan died in the blast while a sixth employee, Matt Kearney, succumbed to his injuries in hospital the next day. 

Their photos and other faded mementos have endured three winters in a makeshift memorial below the Eastway sign off Merivale Road.

That's where Martel plans to release six balloons, play some songs and leave fresh flowers this weekend.

The site means a lot to her. She's even mowed the grass there, she said. 

"Because that's where it happened," Martel said of the day she lost her soulmate. 

Trial to start in March

Martel is hopeful she might soon get a scrap of new information about Bastien's final moments. 

On March 4, a months-long, judge-only trial in Ottawa's Ontario Court of Justice will begin against Neil Greene, the owner of Eastway. 

The province's Ministry of Labour investigated the explosion and charged Greene and the company in January 2023 with three counts each under the province's Occupational Health and Safety Act, including allegedly not taking reasonable precautions to protect workers. 

The ministry also alleged the company failed to ensure a truck "was free of gasoline or any other flammable liquid or substance" while work or testing that could ignite it was taking place nearby, according to court records. 

An industry expert has told CBC this charge accuses Eastway of working on a "hot truck" — an allegation previously made by several former Eastway employees who spoke to CBC after the explosion.

Those employees also alleged other examples of an unsafe work environment including improper storage of flammable chemicals and earlier fires. Greene at the time called those allegations "unfounded."

If convicted, Eastway would face a maximum fine of $1.5 million and Greene would face a maximum fine of $100,000, jail time of up to 12 months, or both. The act does not lay out minimum fines or jail sentences. 

Martel says it's been frustrating waiting for the trial, likening the last two years to "radio silence."

"I wish they were filming that day [at Eastway]," she said. "At least I could see what [Rick] was doing, you know?"

Martel also hopes the trial will be viewable virtually because while she took a year and a half off from work after the explosion, she said she can't afford to attend the trial in person every day. 

Police investigation continues

The Ottawa Police Service's own investigation into the blast continues, a spokesperson told CBC on Friday.

"Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims," the police service said in an emailed statement. 

Transport Canada confirmed it has not received an application from Eastway to operate at a different location than the Merivale Road site.

Eastway has not conducted regular operations as part of its registration with Transport Canada since the explosion, the agency added in an emailed statement.

There is no record of bankruptcy for Eastway, the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy said on Friday. 

CBC reached out to Greene and his lawyer for comment but did not hear back.