Firing of Lac-Megantic engineer ruled illegal, but he won’t be returning to work
MONTREAL — An arbitrator says the firing last summer of Thomas Harding, the train engineer involved in the Lac-Megantic rail disaster, was illegal. He won’t be returning to work, but he will get financial compensation.
Harding was acquitted in January 2018 of criminal negligence causing death.
He returned to work for Central Maine and Quebec Railway, which took over from the defunct Montreal Maine & Atlantic that operated the line at the time of the derailment. Harding went on sick leave and was supposed to gradually return to work as of July 5, 2018, but on June 27 he received a letter of dismissal.
The employer cited his involvement in the Lac-Megantic derailment and said the relationship of trust had been broken.