Mr. Speaker, February 10, 2018, marked the 55th anniversary of the terrible tragedy that happened in a community not too far from my hometown of Kapuskasing called Reesor Siding. Eleven union workers were shot during the Reesor Siding strike of 1963, and three of them lost their lives during a confrontation which happened that very night.
The 1963 Reesor Siding strike was one of the most significant and tragic labour disputes in the history of Canada. The strike by lumber and sawmill workers at the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company tore apart the communities in the region.
I invite all members of the House to learn more about this strike, but mostly, I invite my colleagues to remember the tragedy that happened and to remember Fernand Drouin, and brothers Irenée and Joseph Fortier, who lost their lives while fighting for better working conditions.
Even after half a century, it is regrettable that health and safety in some workplaces in Canada remain an aspiration rather than a reality.