A B.C. Supreme Court has certified a class action lawsuit in a case where some Lytton residents allege the fire that destroyed the community was caused by railway operations.
The proposed representative plaintiffs in the suit both lost property in the fire and said they suffered mental trauma from what happened.
Carel Moiseiwitsch was a longtime property owner in Lytton. Her home and everything inside it were destroyed in the fire, including their home-based business. She also lost her pet cat and was forced to relocate to Vancouver.
The second proposed representative plaintiff, Jordan Spinks, is a member of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band.
He was forced from his home on Indian Reserve Papyum 27 for several months, which he says caused him to lose his job and his ability to hunt and fish.
The defendants, Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP), each own railway tracks that run approximately parallel to one another through Lytton.
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In August 2023, Spinks brought forward a lawsuit alleging the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways, along with the Attorney General of Canada, Transport Canada and others “caused or contributed” to the devastating wildfire that levelled most of Lytton and killed two people.
However, a judge refused to certify the lawsuit.
A 2022 report from the Transportation Safety Board stated investigators could find no evidence that the wildfire was started by a spark from a train.
In a statement on Dec. 3, Ashley Michnowski with CN Rail said the company is disappointed by the decision and is considering its options.
“It is important to highlight that at certification, the Court is not required to fully assess the evidence for the case,” she said.
“Multiple expert agencies have considered the evidence and found no connection between the fire and railway operations. We are confident that, at trial, the Court will be able to consider all the factual elements already reviewed by these agencies to come to the same conclusion.”
The June 30 2021 fire killed two people and forced another 300 to flee as it burned through houses, the health centre, the post office, a grocery store and more.
It took two years for the first home to begin rebuilding in the village.
The length of time it took for shovels to get into the ground enraged many Lytton residents, with various archaeological, debris removal and remediation delays prompting protest and dominating B.C. headlines.
In 2022, the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated insured losses from the destruction in Lytton at $102 million.
The 2021 heat dome was one of the most extreme weather events in recent Canadian history, and was blamed for more than 600 deaths in B.C.
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