KIRKLAND LAKE – With the death of a miner in Sudbury last week Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the provincial commission investigating mine safety needs the necessary resources to do the job.
It has been 30 years since a provincial commission investigated mine safety. Since then miners in Ontario have been killed and thousands of others have been injured. Last year the premier rejected a public inquiry into mine safety and instead chose a review,” said Horwath.
She continued saying: “But at the first public hearings in Timmins and Kirkland Lake, the government didn’t advertise or even put out so much as a press release or media advisory inviting participation. Does the premier think this is acceptable?”
Concerning media notification the Northern News was sent an email from the Ministry of Labour, informing of the meetings being held in Kirkland Lake. As well the Ministry also made its Chief Prevention Officer available for an interview prior to the meetings with enough time to publish prior to the meetings, and he was very accessible to the media at the meetings. A story did run in the Northern News prior to the meetings in Kirkland Lake and after the meetings.