The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
Jodi Blassuti is on a mission. And she’s not going to stop until she’s achieved it. Blassuti, a miner for the past six years, has devoted countless hours and energy to pushing for a mining inquiry in Ontario.
“I was reading a lot in the paper and I was watching Cheryl and Ephraim Dufoe who had lost their son five years ago … that hit home with me really hard, and I know that he’s not the first one to do that. I was watching them and it’s five years later and they’re still fighting for changes and trying to get answers.”
On July 23, 2007, Lyle Dufoe, 25, died after falling 150 feet. He was found at the bottom of a stope next to the scoop and tram he operated in Timmins. Meeting with the Dufoes lit a fire in Blassuti.
“The three of us met after that and we talked for a long time, and they told me everything that they’d been through and how they’re basically getting nowhere, and there’s not a lot of support.
“We’re not going to stop until change is made, and that’s a promise I made to the Dufoes … I feel very passionate about this. It’s something that I’ve lost sleep over.”
On Tuesday, she’s taking her push for an inquiry to the next level, with a public forum at 6:30 p.m. at the Steelworkers Hall. Gerry Lougheed, Jr. will be chairing the discussion.
Nickel Belt MPP France Gelina s said she and Michael Mantha, the NDP critic for Northern Development and Mines, hope to be at Monday’s forum. Gelinas is in favour of a mining inquiry for Ontario, and also wants to see the Mining Act revised.
“We now have like 30 years of coroners’ inquests,” she said. “I do want the coroner to do his work, but I also want us to take a step back and look at all of the tragedies that have happened in the last 30 years, and see if we can move forward in a way that is a bit more strategic, with a longer term focus than what we have now.
“Things have changed … but the laws and recommendations have not.”
Hearing about the mining accidents that have occurred more recently, including the one leading to the deaths of Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier last year, does worry Blassuti as she goes underground.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Sudbury Star website: http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/09/27/forum-seeks-to-find-resolution