Northern MPP wants Ontario government to apologize to miners
Sudbury MPP Jamie West will bring forward a motion on Thursday calling for an official apology from the Government of Ontario to the 25,000 miners who were forced to breathe in harmful aluminum dust between 1943 and 1980.
McIntyre powder was supposed to prevent disease but instead is linked to high rates of Parkinson's disease among those forced to inhale it before their shifts underground.
"This isn’t about offering money," West said.
"This is about recognizing what was done shouldn’t have happened to them and that it was wrong. Because many of those remaining miners are elderly and most remaining miners are health compromised, it remains incredibly urgent and important that we hear this apology as soon as possible."
West said the government of the day sanctioned the use of McIntyre Powder, despite expert evidence that recommended against its use.
The move comes after the Ministry of Labour announced a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease linked to dust will be formally recognized as an occupational disease under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
"You had no choice but to breathe it in," said Bill Ferguson, a miner affected by McIntyre powder.
"I mean, you were right in the middle of this black cloud and you had to breathe it in and they thought they were doing us some good. I breathed it in for approximately 20 years."
The motion will be read during Question Period at Queen's Park on Thursday and the hope is that the apology can be given at that time. West said it's fitting that it would fall on the International Day of Mourning, a day to remember workers who died, were injured or became sick from their job.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.