The daughters of a man who died in the sinking of the B.C. ferry the Queen of the North have settled their wrongful-death lawsuit out of court.
Lawyer Peter Ritchie says the 19- and 15-year-old daughters of Gerald Foisy didn't settle the case willingly, but only because it would have cost them about $60,000 in court and jury costs to proceed.
Ritchie says the girls, who live in Penticton with their mother, weren't after money, but were hoping the trial would lead to the truth of what happened to their father and his girlfriend Shirley Rosette, who was also killed.
He described them as having been anxious to discover why a modern, well-equipped ferry crashed into Gil Island at high speed in B.C.'s Inside Passage in March 2006. He added that they wanted to see witnesses and ferry employees take the stand and describe the events of that night, and said that the case not proceeding was "monstrously unfair" for the girls.
"The girls won't learn through the courts what happened in this ferry tragedy, they won't learn details of what happened on the bridge to cause the tragedy to happen," he said.
And Ritchie criticized the legal system.
"Unless you are wealthy in B.C. you cannot go to court... The two girls loved their father and our so-called justice system has let them down."
Ritchie is calling for a public inquiry, saying the Transportation Safety Board report didn't explain how two people were left to die on the ship.
He said B.C. residents will never know the whole truth behind the sinking.
With a report from Leah Hendry and files by The Canadian Press.
