Regulator suggested it was investigating Maya Bhatia's death, but it didn't
A global leader in arctic research and climate science died in the field more than 18 months ago and there has not been an independent investigation.
On August 16, 2023, Maya Bhatia ran out of a helicopter that landed on the Jakeman Glacier near Grise Fiord, Nunavut. The winds were strong, the mist was thick, and Bhatia was under pressure to collect a water sample from a supraglacial stream. She slipped into the fast-moving water and was swept over a glacial waterfall, known as a moulin. Her body has not been recovered and is believed to be in a lake on the glacier.
Bhatia was a faculty member at the University of Alberta and had a student with her at the time of the incident. That student also ran out of the helicopter to try and save Bhatia but couldn’t reach her.
Family seeks answers
Canadian Occupational Safety began investigating this incident when Bhatia’s father, Ramesh Bhatia, reached out last spring. He is on a mission to prevent something like this from happening again.
Bhatia’s husband, Benjamin Gready, who is also a glaciologist, believes a mountain guide or glacier guide should have been hired and deployed with Bhatia. The use of guides in glacier research is mandated by several international organizations, but not by Canadian authorities.
The University of Alberta promised Bhatia’s family a full and transparent investigation, but later refused to release its investigation report, saying in a statement in June 2024 that it wouldn’t release it because the “Nunavut and Northwest Territories Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) investigation is ongoing.”
When Canadian Occupational Safety reached out to the WSCC at that time it responded by saying “the investigation has been completed.” It also said it would not release its investigation report publicly or provide it to the family. WSCC chief safety officer, Cary Ingram, referred to “our investigation” in a phone interview about the WSCC’s investigation.
But it’s now been revealed the WSCC did not investigate Bhatia’s death.
Accessing information
An access-to-information request was filed in August, asking for the WSCC’s investigation report. The WSCC spent months reviewing the request and denied it in December. Canadian Occupational Safety appealed the decision with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nunavut, Graham Steele.
He recently released a review report which states the WSCC “appears to have been satisfied with the investigation completed by the University. The WSCC did not undertake an independent investigation or ask the University to undertake any further investigation.”
When confronted with this, the WSCC issued a statement asserting, “there was no intention to mislead.” It explains it ordered the University to carry out an investigation, which the University completed and submitted its report to the WSCC.
“Given the nature of the incident and location of where it occurred, the WSCC did not undertake an onsite inspection…The WSCC was satisfied with the investigation report submitted by the University and did not undertake an independent investigation or issue further inspection reports or directions,” reads the WSCC statement.
Steele has recommended the WSCC release documents surrounding Bhatia’s death, including the University of Alberta’s investigation report. The recommendations have been submitted to the Minister responsible for the WSCC, Pamela Gross, who has until March 14th to decide.
‘Independence is critical’
Under Nunavut’s Safety Act the primary responsibility for investigating workplace fatalities rests with the employer, not the regulator. There is no legal requirement for an independent investigation into any workplace fatality in Nunavut. But Bhatia’s family was given the impression an independent investigation was taking place.
“The issue of independence is critical,” says Peter Sturm, president and CEO of Sturm Consulting. He is one of Canada’s leading experts on workplace accident investigations. He says an investigator should “not be bound by any constraints from their employer, overseer or allegiance to others that are contrary to the required ethics and expected behaviours.”
Sean Tucker, a professor of occupational health and safety at the University of Regina echoes those sentiments, adding a lack of accountability could erode public trust in a regulator.
“If they say they're investigating a workplace fatality to multiple parties, and then it’s found out that they're not, there needs to be some accountability in the system for that.”
One must wonder how many other workplace fatalities have not been independently investigated in Nunavut… and elsewhere in Canada.
