Blair Duane Smith was killed in an ammonia leak at the Mount Paul Industrial Park on May 26, 2022.

The wife of a man who was killed in an ammonia explosion last year is still looking for answers from Kamloops RCMP, among others involved in the investigation.

Blair Duane Smith died in the Arctic Glacier ammonia leak last May, which sent two other people to hospital.

Smith's wife, Tania Smith, recently filed a petition to BC Supreme Court, aiming to compel police, Technical Safety BC, the coroners service and Arctic Glacier to turn over all documents related to the investigations.

She said in her filing she already tried to request the information through other channels, but those that responded refused to hand them over.

The BC Coroners Service refused to give over Smith husband's autopsy on May 31 when they told her the investigation is ongoing, and they couldn't estimate when a coroner's report would be available, according to her claim.

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She said also requested investigation notes from Kamloops RCMP on the one-year anniversary of his death, but she was refused five days later saying the investigation was still ongoing.

She said she then did the same with the Southeast District RCMP on June 14, which returned the same response as the Kamloops detachment within the same day, according to her petition.

Smith said she also asked Arctic Glacier for "all documentation" related to the leak, but they haven't provided her with information.

Technical Safety BC found poor communication and untrained employees contributed to the fatal leak at Arctic Glacier in May 2022.

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Technical Safety BC investigated the leak last year and found the ammonia unit that leaked was shut down in 2015, but miscommunication, staffing changes and a failure to use a licensed contractor to check for ammonia all led to the unexpected release, according to its report issued in January.

Workers thought the system was emptied when a valve was opened and released pressurized ammonia into the air, killing Smith, 69.

Tania Smith filed a freedom of information request for all documents related to Technical Safety BC's investigation on May 10, but she hasn't received the documents or a response to that request as of Aug. 8 when she filed her petition to the BC Supreme Court, she said.

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"Information contained in the file from the Kamloops RCMP is crucial in establishing whether or not the petitioner would be able to sustain action for damages," her petition reads, repeating the same statement for each of the other organizations involved in the investigation.

iNFOnews.ca reached out to Smith's lawyer, Robyn Wishart, for comment, but she did not respond.

RCMP refused to comment when asked about its refusal to provide Smith with information and did not provide an update on the investigation. While Kamloops RCMP was named in the suit, Kamloops RCMP does not have conduct of the file, police say.

Southeast District RCMP is still "managing the investigation," spokesperson Cpl. James Grandy said in a written response. He said the investigation is ongoing as investigators work with other agencies, but there's "nothing new to report publicly." 

Grandy said RCMP would not be commenting publicly on Smith's attempts to get information or her petition to the court.

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