Campbell River Now
VICTORIA, B.C- A well-known labour activist in the Comox Valley will be celebrated by the province tomorrow. According to an announcement from the B.C government, Friday July 27, 2018 will be known as Ginger Goodwin Day, in order to celebrate Albert (Ginger) Goodwin, who was a pioneering figure in the province’s labour movement.
Tomorrow will mark the 100th anniversary of his death in the mountains near Cumberland, after being shot by police.
Born in England, Goodwin had come to Cumberland in 1910 after coming to Canada four years earlier. At the time, the community was a centre of coal mining, with at least 260 people killed in work-related accidents from 1888 to the 1960s.
Goodwin was part of the coal miner’s strike on the Island from 1912 to 1914, and has been acknowledged as playing a prominent and fundamental role in the growth of the provincial labour movement.
“The proclamation acknowledges the achievements and progress made by Goodwin, who was a passionate advocate for fair and safe workplaces,” read a bulletin from the provincial government.
“It also reflects government’s firm commitment to protect all workers by putting in place and enforcing the laws, regulations and policies that support safe working environments.” New highway signs to mark Goodwin’s legacy were unveiled this June along Highway 19 near Cumberland.
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