New book commemorates deadly labour dispute in northern Ontario

On a cold night in February 1963, a labour dispute in the northern Ontario community of Reesor Siding, outside Kapuskasing, reached a boiling point.

Around 400 union members confronted a small group of farmers, with a dozen Ontario Provincial Police officers caught in between. The farmers opened fire on the union members. Three men were killed and eight were injured.

Andy Beaudoin's older brother was one of the police officers trying to separate the two feuding groups.

The confrontation was later commemorated in a song by folk musician Stompin' Tom Connors called Reesor Crossing Tragedyand a memorial that still sits along Highway 11, not far from the now abandoned town.

Now,Beaudoin has written a book The Reesor Siding Tragedy: Canada's Bloodiest Labour Conflictto remind people of the conflict.

"I never had any interest in writing a book until I kind of felt like because I had these documents and I felt that they were a precious connection to a really important historical event," Beaudoin said.

"So I felt duty-bound to write this."

Beaudoin said the incident shows how a mob mentality can take over a group when tensions run high.

"What makes perfectly reasonable, friendly men turn into a mob in certain situations?" he said.

"We're seeing it over and over again in society. We saw it on Jan. 6in Washington, D.C.. and so on."

On Jan. 14, 1963, around 1,500 members of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union walked off the job at the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company because of a proposed wage freeze, among other issues they had with the company.

Local farmers also supplied the mill with pulpwood as independent contractors.

On Feb. 11, 1963, a group of striking workers marched to Reesor Siding to sabotage wood that the farmers had stockpiled there. But the farmers were waiting for them with rifles in hand.

"They rushed forward and then they were shot," Beaudoin said.

Following the confrontation, police collected the names of 237 strikers and arrested 20 farmers, also confiscating their weapons.

"Ironically, my brother comes home at seven in the morning, never mentions a word to his wife or his little kids, goes to bed and goes on with his work," Beaudoin said.

"The family never knew about any of his involvement in that."

For Bill Steer, director of the Canadian Ecology Centre Foundation, the roadside memorial for the victims has come to represent the sacrifices made for the labour movement's gains.

"Why we have vacations, and the five-day work week and safety standards is all because of unions," he said.

"In this case it wasn't an incidentit was a tragedy in the making."

Morning North13:20The Reesor Siding tragedy - a deadly labour dispute from northern Ontario's past

A new book reveals new details about what is known as the Reesor Siding tragedy. The author joined us to talk about the deadly shootout from 1963 that happened in the bush near Kapsuasking.