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Commemorative Projectsof the Westray Families Group
Their Light Shall Always Shine memorial emblem
The memorial emblem is a miner’s lantern with twenty-six rays of light to commemorate each of the twenty-six coal miners killed. It is subscripted with the expression Their Light Shall Always Shine. The emblem was designed by John Ashton of Ashton Creative Design. It appears on all documents produced by the Westray Families Group.
Their Light Shall Always Shine Memorial Park
In the year following the explosion, family members worked endlessly to establish a large memorial park in New Glasgow named Their Light Shall Always Shine Memorial Park. Their labour of love was a enormous undertaking that came to fruition because of the time, labour and dedication of the family members and an abundant outpouring of donations from individuals and companies in the region and throughout the province. By the first anniversary of the explosion, the 2.2 acre wood lot was transformed into a grassed lot with twenty-six commemorative trees, a large paved driveway, and a commemorative stone monument. The families lobbied to have highway and city signage to provide directions for people wishing to visit the park. The park serves as the location for annual memorial services and it is a place of personal reflection for family members and visitors.
The stone monument installed in the park
The Westray Families Group was involved in the design of the stone monument. They received many design suggestions. They decided to incorporate the memorial emblem into the design of the monument. Because the monument is so large, they were able to document the names and birth dates of the twenty-six men in the twenty-six rays of light.
Annual memorial services
On May 9th of every year, the families hold a memorial service at the Their Light Shall Always Shine Memorial Park.
No More Westrays protest marches
On the fifth anniversary of the explosion, the memorial service followed a No More Westrays protest march, which started at 5:20 a.m. at the Westray mine site and ended at the Their Light Shall Always Shine Memorial Park. The protests drew thousands of participants. On the tenth anniversary, the United Steel Workers Union joined the Westray families for a No More Westrays protest march after launching their Westray campaign. The Westray campaign involved lobbying for legislation that would make corporate officials, from company CEOs to production level managers, accountable for breaches of workplace safety regulations resulting in the injury or death of workers.
We Remember Westray Bumper Sticker
The Westray families produced and distributed a Remember Westray bumper sticker to address the slowness of the criminal and judicial response to the explosion.
Their Light Shall Always Shine Baseball Hat and Commemorative Pin
Monuments and memorial parks involve tremendous time, personal energy, and money to construct and maintain. The Westray families have used Their Light Shall Always Shine commemorative lapel pin and baseball hats to raise awareness about the Westray mine explosion and raise funds to allow the group to maintain the park.
The Westray Families Group website
The Their Light Shall Always Shine website commemorates the men and provides links to the newspaper articles, academic papers, and government documents written on the Westray mine explosion.
The Westray Families Group wanted to provide park visitors with a critical understanding of the explosion. The panels summarize the conclusions of the Public Inquiry (Richard, 1997), entitled The Westray Story: A Predictable Path to Disaster.
Public speaking
Members of the Westray Families Group continue to give public lectures about the Westray mine explosion as a tragic example of what can happen when workplace safety regulations are not practiced. They have given presentations at union meetings, academic conferences, schools and community centres, and government proceedings, including the Senate hearings on Bill C-45 (the Westray Bill), aimed at holding senior representatives of corporations responsible for the health and safety of workers.
United Steelworkers Union No More Westray campaign and Bill C-45
After the Public Inquiry results were published, the United Steelworkers Union established a No More Westray campaign to lobby the federal government for legislation that would hold the representatives of corporations responsible for injuries and death resulting from breeches of workplace safety legislation. During the lobbying process, the bill (Bill C-45) was dubbed “the Westray bill” because the Westray mine explosion had become an indisputable and disgraceful example of what some critiques call corporate manslaughter.
The No More Westray campaign resulted in legislative reform when Bill C-45 received Royal Assent in November 2003. Some members of the Westray Families Group were present for the final reading of the Bill. Bill C-45 extends corporate criminal liability to all “organizations”; it adds new provisions which attribute criminal liability to organizations for the acts of their representatives; it amends section 217.1 of the criminal code by clarifying the legal duty of those responsible for directing work to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to workers; and, it outlines sentencing principles for organizations. With respect to the definition of representatives of organization, this term is defined broadly and extensively. In the case of corporations, it includes everyone from rank and file employees through to senior officers; this latter term “includes, at the very least, a director, the chief executive officer, and the chief financial officer”.
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