Former safety director drops lawsuit against BC Ferries

The former safety director of BC Ferries has dropped the wrongful dismissal lawsuit he filed after the Queen of the North sank earlier this year, but hestill wantsthe corporation to deal with hissafety concerns.

But it doesn't appear likely that Capt. Darin Bowland will get his wish, as BC Ferries president David Hahn has rejected his appeal.

Bowland quit aftersix weeks on the job, just days after the ferry crashed into Gil Island south of Prince Rupert in March. Two people are missing andbelieved to be dead.

In June, Bowland filed suit against the corporation alleging wrongful dismissal, swearing a 32-page affidavit in support of his claim.

Hesaid the documentdescribes conversations he had with senior BC Ferries officers detailing his safety concerns.

"In that affidavit, I've outlined all of the concerns, all of the warnings, everything that I've laid out in my original pleading, indetail," he said Friday, adding that a confidentiality agreementhe signedprevents him frommaking the affidavit public.

But BC Ferries presidentDavid Hahn canrelease the document, Bowland said. "And I'm asking Mr. Hahn, if he wants to get the safety issues out in the open, to release that to the public, and then we can have a reallygood debate."

Not going to happen, says Hahn

However, Hahn rejects Bowland's appeal for a public debate, saying that the affidavit is nothing more than allegations that are not backed by fact.

"If there was fact, if they were credible allegations, why would he drop the lawsuit? It's very clear that if someone had the smoking gun stuff he's talking about, they would continue with this."

Hahn had said earlier this year he never heard any safety concerns raised by Bowland before the sinking of the Queen of the North.

Bowland saidhe decided to drop the lawsuit for a variety of reasons, including a desire to move on with his life. He said it was never about money.