Sudbury health and safety activist Homer Seguin has died at the age of 79.
A former miner with Inco (now Vale), Seguin was an active union member for 45 years, known for his efforts to provide healthy and safe workplaces, quality pay, job security, benefits and pensions for all workers.
Seguin began his mining career in 1950 at Inco’s sintering plant in Copper Cliff. The 16-year-old lied about his age in order to get work to help support his widowed mother.
Chronicling his life in his 2008 self-published memoir, Fighting for Justice and Dignity: The Homer Seguin Story, the former miner called the sintering plant a “horrible, horrible workplace,” where he first experienced sulfur.
“Now, this was not the stuff you got in town; it was like someone was strangling you,” he wrote. “My throat was burning and you couldn’t breathe.”
It was that type of environment that inspired Seguin to push for better working conditions for miners through his involvement with the Mine Mill and Smelter Workers (MMSW) and the United Steelworkers (USW) unions. He started his career in activism as a steward on the safety committee, moving up to union trustee in 1963, eventually working his way up to vice-president of Local 6500, and president in 1967.
Part of his work included pushing for reduced sulfur emissions inside the plants, which later led to the broader acid reduction programs mandated by the Ontario government.
Seguin retired in 1992 on a disability pension, but continued on as a labour representative on the Ontario Workers Compensation Board of Directors for five years, and as a director with the Ministry of Labour on the Ontario Occupational Disease Panel from 1989 to 1998.
He was later recognized for his work, receiving a Community Builders Award from Northern Life in 2009 in the safety, health and environment category, and receiving a doctorate of laws from Laurentian University for outstanding lifetime achievements in the field of safety, health and the environment.
United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard credited Seguin with pushing beyond status quo attitudes towards workplaces to improve conditions.
“There’s a huge machine out there that spends a lot of time telling you that’s just the way things are, that you can’t do anything about it. That’s baloney,” Gerard said during an April Day of Mourning ceremony. “We can make a difference. Homer’s life shows that you can make a difference.”
Donna Campbell, executive director of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, described Seguin as a friend and mentor. He was instrumental in getting the clinic set up, she said, and for raising awareness around the issues.“I am grieving for Homer—I miss him a lot,” she said. “He was a friend of mine. He taught me a lot.”
Industry also honoured the former union leader.
In a statement, Vale expressed its condolences, noting Seguin will be remembered for a half-century of worker health and safety advocacy in the community.
“Homer Seguin’s dedication to worker health and safety is to be commended,” said Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Ontario and UK operations. “Our condolences go out to his family and friends.”
Seguin is survived by his wife, Maria; children Daniel, Suzanne, Dianne, Denise and Louise; stepson Fred; 14 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
A funeral service for Seguin was held April 29 in Sudbury.
