Early on the morning of Nov. 30, Janice Martell and a group of like-minded worker advocates had gathered at Sudbury’s United Steelworkers hall, ready to board a bus for the long trip to Toronto.
That afternoon, they would be seated in the Speaker’s Gallery in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to hear a long-awaited, official apology from the provincial government. At issue: a public health experiment that has left mine workers sick or dead after inhaling aluminum powder on the job.
Full of nervous energy, Martell and her supporters spent the ride talking, swapping stories, and singing songs — “Working Man” by Maritime songstress Rita MacNeil was a recurring favourite — sharing in the camaraderie of a club that no one wanted to be a part of.
“It was wonderful, just being on that bus with all of the other families who had all gone through loss and health issues and challenges; we were all together,” said Martell, reflecting on the day.
“It was really lovely, and we just got to be able to spend time together and have that experience together.”
Introduced in 1943 by McIntyre Mine executives in Timmins, McIntyre Powder was a finely ground aluminum dust that miners were required to inhale before every shift.
Initially, it was presented as a preventive measure against silicosis, a debilitating lung disease that had long afflicted underground workers — and the company’s bottom line.
Breathing in McIntyre Powder would coat the lungs, preventing silicosis from taking hold, company leadership reasoned, and at the end of their shifts, workers could simply cough the powder out.
The reality was quite different.
Over time, workers who inhaled the aluminum dust developed chronic illnesses including various cancers and respiratory conditions, along with neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The practice was eventually abandoned around 1980.
In many cases, illness has led to death, which was the case for Martell’s father, Jim Hobbs, a former underground miner who died in 2017 after living with Parkinson’s for well over a decade.
His health struggles fuelled Martell’s crusade to raise awareness about McIntyre Powder and get compensation for mine workers who had suffered in silence.
That’s why it was so significant when the province agreed to deliver an official apology for its role in sanctioning the use of McIntyre Powder on the 79th anniversary of its first use underground.
“It was huge,” Martell said. “It was huge to have that happen and to know that not one other guy has to die before he hears it, and their families, too.”
In the Speaker’s Gallery, Martell and about 30 others, including her mom, her daughter and her siblings, looked on as Labour Minister Monte McNaughton delivered the message they’d long waited to hear:
“...this tragedy should not have happened to you,” McNaughton said, directly facing those who had travelled from Northern Ontario to be there.
“It should not have happened to your loved ones, and to each and every one of you, on behalf of the people of Ontario, we are truly sorry.”
McNaughton’s address was followed by apologies from Sudbury MPP Jamie West. He had been instrumental in helping to arrange the event, as the Official Opposition Critic for labour, training and skills development, along with Kingston MPP Ted Hsu, who serves as the Liberal Critic for energy, mines, natural resources and forestry.
The entire assembly then stood for a moment of silence.
Martell said she felt McNaughton’s words were sincere, and she especially appreciated that he mentioned the impact the McIntyre Powder experience had on miners’ families.
“These are people who, nothing bothered them in their whole life,” Martell said.
“They just got on with things and did what they needed to do to provide support for their families, and they complained very little.
“Then to see them deteriorate, it had a huge impact on the families.”
Just before the group rose to leave, Ron Tough, a former miner who had made the trip to witness the historic apology for himself, broke out in song.
It was something the group had talked about and even rehearsed on the trip down, said Martell, though she remained doubtful it would happen.
That type of outburst is off-limits in the Legislature; visitors in the gallery weren’t permitted to talk or even whisper while Parliament is in session, she said. Security is so tight, visitors had to leave their cell phones behind before even entering the chamber.
But on this occasion, formality took a bit of back seat as Tough belted out the chorus to “Working Man”:
It's a working man l am
And I've been down underground
And I swear to God if l ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down underground
The Speaker smiled and waved off security as the sitting members waited for Tough to finish, she said. Then they rose to give him and the other visitors a standing ovation.
“That just felt really memorable, and I think it made an impact on those MPPs,” Martell said. “They’re not going to forget our miners and mine workers, and it was good.”
Despite reaching this significant milestone, Martell said the work related to McIntyre Powder is far from done.
Even with all the headway she’s made through the McIntyre Powder Project and her role at the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), plenty of former mine workers still aren’t well versed in their rights around compensation.
She’s planning a series of “back-to-basics” information sessions to help create awareness about McIntyre Powder. It will cover how to make a claim to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, what documents are needed for an application, and other information she’s learned gleaned over the years.
Martell is also eager to continue filming miners and families sharing their experiences with mining and McIntyre Powder.
She embarked on the project in early February 2020, but only got one interview recorded before the pandemic hit and filming paused. She's completed one other interview since then.
At some point in the future, when she’s got enough footage, she’d like to compile the miners' accounts into a documentary.
“They have such interesting stories to tell, they really do,” Martell said. “And they’re just so down to earth and plain, humble.
“I really like talking to these guys, and it gives them some peace of mind as well, knowing that their story’s not going to be untold or unheard.”
The apology has ushered in a fresh round of inquiries from people across the country. There are miners seeking help in accessing compensation and those who are new to the McIntyre Powder story. On all accounts, Martell is happy to help.
Hearing the apology and having it ensconced as part of the official Parliamentary record has brought her a huge sense of relief, and she believes others feel it, too.
“I think it gives people some inspiration and hope that things can change, that this can be on a stage such as the Ontario Legislature and suddenly members of provincial Parliament from all across the province know who our miners are and what they went through,” Martell said.
“I think that’s elevated this issue to the level where people are feeling hopeful again.”
