As review begins, miner’s mom thanks Sudbury

As 2013 came to a close, I pondered where life has taken me, where I am going and how I am where I am. The latter I thought about at length. How did I get where I am? It is because of you, the Greater Sudbury community.

When the discussion to start MINES (Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support) first began, my heart was still grieving the loss of my son Jordan, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

It was a way I could commemorate my son, while preventing similar losses from ever happening again. It was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment when our committee and the Ministry of Labour agreed to a review of mining practices in Ontario. We have you to thank for that.

We proved that we are a small community with a mighty voice. The support did not end there — thousands of postcards were signed, letters were submitted, posts were shared and petitions were signed.

Our journey began with the postcard campaign initiated by Gerry Lougheed Jr. It is with his guidance, knowledge and mentorship that we have achieved what we have. I would also like thank our former mayor, Jim Gordon, for supporting our efforts in its early stages.

To the Steelworkers, especially president Rick Bertrand and Mike Bond, we are forever indebted to you for sharing your knowledge and professionalism.

I would be remiss to not thank the tireless efforts of the MINES committee — the Dufoe and Chenier families; my sister-in-law, Wendy Coccimiglio; Jodi Blassuti; George Staszak; Linda Morgan; Faye Campeau; John Fera, and many others.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to the MINES Timmins chapter.

To Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ministers Yasir Naqvi and Michael Gravelle, along with MP Andrea Horwath, MPP France Gelinas and the New Democrats — thank you for listening and for believing in our campaign. Your support will effect great change in our mines.

Finally I would like to thank my family. My husband Brian and my son Jesse were always present at meetings and have been source of strength through this process. To my daughter Briana, you have been my constant motivating force through all of this.

The first meeting of the government’s review committee took place Jan. 28. I encourage you to participate in upcoming public forums in order to share your concerns and ideas as to how we can improve the safety of our mines.

We may have reached our goal, but the hard work is to come. Remember, this is not the MINES committee review, or the Jason and Jordan review — this is our community’s review — from Sudbury to Timmins to all of Ontario.

Wendy Fram
chair, Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support (MINES)