Miners, their families, and community members expressed frustration and anger at a rally to show support for the Donkin Mine in Cape Breton on Tuesday.
“It's been tough. I will probably have to start working two different jobs to be able to keep afloat,” said Dan MacMillan, a laid-off miner.
Many miners at the rally said they'd go back underground in a heartbeat if Donkin resumes operation.
Laid-off miner AJ Hall said the stoppage was never about safety for him.
“As a worker, we make our own safety. We know where we can go, what we can do, where to look,” he said.
Hall's father was one of 12 miners killed in the Number 26 mine explosion in 1979.
He was asked what his father would think about Tuesday’s rally.
“Let’s do this, let’s get back to work like I did. You have a family to support and it’s better to do it here than anywhere else,” said Hall.
The Donkin mine has been closed since July after two rock falls.
Last week a geological expert hired by the province of Nova Scotia to conduct a review of the idled mine recommended a two-phase approach to safely reopen it.
But Dawson Brisco, the president and CEO of Morien Resources, which has royalty interest in the mine, says the current situation goes far beyond the stop work order.
“At this point, what we need is assurances that another roof fall or something similar won't result in another four-month or six-month long stop work order,” said Brisco.
There are calls for Premier Tim Houston to meet with Kameron Coal. Some noted local PC MLAs’ absence from the Tuesday rally.
“I really think it’s terrible. I was very disappointed that our local MLAs didn't show up here. I'm upset that their involvement in this. The silence has been not good, in my opinion,” said Darren Bruckschwaiger, Cape Breton Regional Municipality councillor.
Labour Minister Jill Balser says her government's approach is about keeping the miners safe.
Kameron Coal has placed its operation in an "idled state" with no time table on when or if operations will resume.
