Justice Bike Ride

The Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG) once again supported the fourth annual Justice for Injured Workers bike ride / Cycleton Justice pour les accidenté(e)s du travail. The message for this year’s bike ride was “Occupational Disease: The Other Workplace Fatality”. The race was held just before the 2018 election, an event of great importance to injured workers who asked that to be treated with justice and dignity instead of being pushed into poverty and marginalized simply because of injury at work.

This year the Ride started  with a memorial ride on Saturday May 26, 2018 from Elliot Lake into Massey for the late Jim Hobbs and all workers who have died from occupational diseases – and in many cases never receive compensation for their illness. Jim and his daughter’s valiant efforts to bring attention to the devastating use of McIntyre Powder in Ontario’s mines is an inspiring story of courage and determination. The General Electric workers in Peterborough or the Victims of Chemical Valley (VOCV) in Sarnia are also examples of government’s callous disregard of their plight, and an onerous bureaucratic workers’ compensation system that seems set up to deny the workers injured or made sick by their workplace.

Worker’s Comp is a Right should be shouted out from every corner of this province and by joining the riders on Saturday May 26, 2018 you can be part of that voice that cries out “Justice for Injured Workers.”

Peter Page, ONIWG Bike Ride Committee

• Report on the 2018 Justice Bike Ride (by Christine Nugent and Dianne Baddeley, ONIWG)
• Callout letter / lettre

Media coverage:

• CTV News Sudbury. 2018 May 29. “Supporting Injured Workers.” (video of interview with Wally Noiles)
• Russell, Rosalind. 2018 May 28. “Memorial Ride Honouring Miner Who Inspired into McIntyre Powder Research.” My Algoma Manitoulin Now
• Sudbury Star. 2018 May 26. “Injured Workers Riding to Sudbury for Justice.”
• Ontario Political Forum. 2018 May 24. “Justice for Injured Workers Bike Ride: Four Days of Activities in Support of Injured Workers.”
• Elliot Lake Standard. 2018 May 23. “Injured Workers Cycle 170km to Call for Justice.”