Friends, family and advocates of the 25,000 miners who were forced to breathe dust from McIntyre left the legislature on Thursday without the Ontario apology they expected.
Northern miners were required to breathe the earth’s aluminum dust, known as McIntyre Powder, before beginning their shifts from 1943 to 1979.
They were told that the dust would protect them from harm, but years later many developed diseases such as Parkinson’s, a brain disease that tends to worsen over time, affecting the ability to speak and walk.
In 2020, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) confirmed that miners forced to inhale McIntyre Powder are at higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Janice Martel has launched the McIntyre Powder project to prove that there is a potential link between dust inhalation and neurological disease. Her father, Jim Hobbs, inhaled dust while working as a miner and died in 2017 of Parkinson’s.
Martel also lobbied in the province for an official apology from the miners, who are still alive, and their families.
She was in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, but did not receive the apology.
“Honestly, you know, it’s been 80 years since the first box of McIntyre Powder was delivered to experimental subjects in Timins,” Martel said. “I don’t know how much longer we have to wait for an apology.”
Four famous McIntyre Powder boxes were used between 1943 and 1979. The white box is the original box, labeled as 5 grams. The next two are labeled as 10 grams. (Submitted by Janice Martel)
The leader of the Chamber says more time is needed for an apology
On Thursday, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas submitted a formal apology to the province, but House of Representatives leader Paul Calandra said the government would need more time to do so.
“The apology of the Chamber is one of the highest things we can do and one of the most important things we can do.
Calandra said he was only notified of the apology on Wednesday.
“Families really deserve an apology, absolutely,” he said. “But we can’t do it in less than 24 hours.”
But Martel said the government had had enough time to prepare an apology. She said she had submitted petitions to the Ontario Legislature, and Greater Sudbury MPs France Gélinas and Jamie West had made statements to the Legislative Assembly since February.
“You know, I understand that they want to do it right. I understand that,” Martel said. “My problem is that these guys are dying.”
It’s just infuriating that it didn’t happen today. ”
Roger Jenow was an electrician working on Lake Elliott from 1975 to 1979, a time when he inhaled McIntyre dust.
Geno was in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday and said the lack of apology was extremely disappointing.
“What happened today, I want to say, is that there is nothing we can do about it,” he said. “But you know what?” Let’s get him back in the room and get a proper apology. It’s just infuriating that it didn’t happen today. ”
Ontario Labor Secretary Monte McNaughton said the province had invested $ 1.8 million to support the McIntyre Powder project.
“We have stepped up to ensure compensation for workers who have suffered unfairly as a result of exposure to MacIntyre Powder,” he said. “While other governments in the past have not recognized it from different angles, we have recognized it.”
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