Court upholds Queen of the North crew suspension

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has refused to overturn the suspension of two officers that were on the bridge of the Queen of the North before the ferry sank.

BC Ferries suspended Karl Lilgert and Kevin Hilton when they refused to give crucial details of what happened before the ferry sank.

The BC Ferry and Marine Workers Union fought the suspensions through B.C.'s Labour Relations Board, an arbitrator and finally the courts, saying the pair would not talk because a decision hadn't been made on possible criminal charges.

But on Tuesday Justice Catherine Wedge ruled that full public disclosure of the incident outweighs the interests of the two employees.

Lilgert, Hilton and quartermaster Karen Bricker were all later fired, something their union is also contesting.

Two passengers lost their lives when the Queen of the North sank after running into Gil Island on March 22, 2006. A report released a year later blamed human error for the crash.