“Canadians united behind Elliot Lake this week in a dark time. Now, we owe it to the families of the victims and the community to take every step we can to get answers and to ensure this doesn’t happen again. An independent public inquiry will ensure that no stone is left unturned,” said Mantha.

“The incredibly hard work of emergency crews and community leaders inspired people across the country. They are heroes and we won’t forget their efforts. Now we need to focus on learning what we can.”

Mantha believes an inquiry should examine both the events leading up to the collapse and after.

“If we are going to prevent future tragedies like this one, we need an independent review with a broad mandate to look for answers and ask the tough questions,” said Mantha. “We need to know what contributed to the incident and what steps have been taken to prevent it. We need to look at the role of the Ministry of Labour and how we can protect and improve our emergency response system to prevent future tragedies.”

An independent public inquiry can be established by the Premier under Ontario’s Public Inquiries Act.