Before I begin, Speaker, I want to thank you for the opportunity for the guests to use the Speaker’s gallery. There are a couple of the members who had mobility issues, but they all wanted to stand together, so I’m very thankful to you and your office for opening the entire gallery to them.

Speaker, today is November 30, an important day in Ontario mining: 79 years ago today, despite expert evidence recommending against its use at the time, the Ontario government of the day sanctioned the first use of McIntyre aluminum powder for use on Ontario mine workers. During the 36 years that it was used, more than 25,000 Ontario mine workers, primarily in uranium and gold mines, were forced to breathe the finely ground aluminum dust known as McIntyre Powder.

Before the start of each and every shift, the doors of the dry, the mining change room, were sealed shut, the ventilation would be turned off and a mist of fine aluminum dust was pumped inside. The dust would make the air turn black. Locked into the room, the workers were told to breathe deeply so the dust would coat their lungs, so the dust would protect them, and if the workers refused, they were fired.

I want to share the voice of two of these workers. During a press conference we held, Ed Graham said, “I put old shirt rags over my face to avoid the aluminum dust, but a supervisor caught me and told me to take that rag off my face. I asked the supervisor about the aluminum dust and was told, ‘Keep asking questions like that and you won’t be here very long.’”

Bill Ferguson also said, “At the start of each shift they would line our lungs with that aluminum dust before we went underground. The theory was that the silica and rock dust wouldn’t stick to your lungs and you’d cough up the aluminum at the end of your shift, but that didn’t work. They sprayed me with that for 18 years.”

For 36 years, Speaker, mining workers like Ed and Bill were told that breathing aluminum powder would protect them from harm, but instead many miners experienced immediate and long-term health effects, and it simply wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to the 25,000 Ontario mine workers who were forced to breathe McIntyre aluminum powder. It wasn’t fair to their loved ones, to their wives, to their children, to their fathers, to their mothers, to their friends and their fishing buddies. It simply wasn’t fair.

And so, today we are here, united as members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 79 years after the first use of McIntyre aluminum powder, 36 years after its final use, and we are here to tell you that we are sorry.

Nous sommes désolés. L’utilisation de la poudre McIntyre a été sanctionné par le gouvernement de l’Ontario. Ce n’était pas juste pour les 25 000 mineurs Ontariens. Ce n’était pas juste pour leurs amis et pour leurs familles. Nous sommes désolés.

We are sorry that between 1943 and 1979, more than 25,000 Ontario mine workers were forced to breathe McIntyre aluminum powder. We are sorry that the use of McIntyre powder was supported and sanctioned by the Ontario government of the day. We are sorry this happened to people who dedicated their lives and their work to the betterment of our province.

Speaker, when I began, I said today is November 30. This is an important day in Ontario mining because today, 79 years after the Ontario government sanctioned the first use of McIntyre aluminum powder, I am proud to join with all members of the Legislative Assembly from all parties. Together, on November 30, 2022, an important day in Ontario mining, we offer an apology on behalf of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to all miners, to mine workers, their friends and their families. We are very, truly sorry. Nous sommes vraiment désolés.

Applause.