DSS203: Review of Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light | Part 2 with Vernon Theriault

Today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast is part two of a two-part interview with Vernon Theriault, author of the book ‘Westray: My Journey From Darkness To Light.’ In the previous episode, we explained why this series was conceived and went through some of the technical aspects of the Westray coal mine explosion, and went over why Vernon wrote his first book. Today, he delves deeper into the aftermath of the tragedy.

What Does the Rehabilitation Process Look Like?

Vernon admitted that after the rescue efforts were called off, he didn’t realize that he was going to take a part of Westray home with him, where it would stay for the rest of his life.

“Westray came home with me, and it’s still with me today. I found it very hard to sleep. I was hard to get along with. I don’t know if it was because I was feeling sorry for losing my co-workers or being involved with something that was really a disaster. But I had to go get help.”

He started by seeing his family doctor, who set him up with a counselor. He also attended some group meetings. Talking was difficult, but Vernon acknowledged that keeping everything inside was only going to tear his heart apart.

He wanted to write about his experience, but couldn’t read or write. At times, his despair was so deep that he questioned whether he wanted to keep living.

“I had these thoughts going through my mind – instead of fighting for a clear life, I thought the easy way out would be just suicide. Just take my life and I don’t have to worry about it anymore. But I didn’t. It’s so close at times when I hear this about people taking their lives. I know exactly what route they went because I was so close to going that route. It’s not a good route to take. I don’t recommend it to anybody. Get help. There’s help there. Talk to people. Write it out. If you don’t want people to see what you’re writing, burn it. Just get it out. Get it out on paper. And it won’t tear your heart apart.

“I’ll be honest. It’s goddamn hard. But there is help. And that’s why I want this book out and for people to help me with their stories, so we can let people know that there’s help for them.”

He vowed to do something for not only his 26 co-workers who perished in the disaster, but all workers in Canada. That’s when he helped lobby to get the Westray Bill passed.

And not just that, though, because I go back to when I was lobbying in Ottawa, I realized I wasn’t doing it just for the 26 co-workers. I was lobbying to get a bill passed through for all workers, not just union workers, but all workers in Canada – that bill was going to help everybody. So I kind of got over the guilt part of it and I said to myself, “I got to do something”. And that’s what I did – I ended up fighting for something that was a better cause than put myself down all the time with guilt.”

Remembering Westray Today

Pictou County recently commemorated the Westray disaster in a 30th anniversary event. Every five years, a memorial is held, thanks to support from steelworkers and the government. Some miners still attend, while others have passed on.

During this recent event, Vernon spoke with some of the family members of the miners who died and asked if they would be interested in talking about how Westray has affected them over the past 30 years. He got some good responses from some of them, and hopes to tell their stories when he’s ready to write his second book.

He is, however, concerned that not enough change has been made to prevent further tragedies. This includes imposing consequences for worker deaths.

“Ever since [Bill C45 became law], I thought we would see companies, CEOs or management go to jail for killing workers. But we have never seen anybody go to jail. What do they get? I guess you take a life and then the judge [says], “Well, we’ll give the company a $50,000 fine.”My life is a hell of a lot worth more than $50,000. If somebody kills me, I hope they go to jail.If you killed a worker, it should be jail time.”

Conclusion

Vernon said that although the memories of Westray have been hard to live with, he’s glad that he never gave in completely to despair. He knew he had important work to do, starting with his book.

“Now, don’t get me wrong. There are still some days (when) I have a bad day that I don’t even want to live anymore. But I get to say to myself, “No, you can do it. You can go on.” Like I said already, when I see somebody dying in a workplace, it bothers me. I can just imagine what their families are going to go through for the next few years and longer. It’s rough, but you will get through it. It takes time, but you got to work with it. It is hard.”

If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our ‘Questions from the Community’ page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode. You can also reach Vernon Theriault at [email protected].