 Monument to the shootings The Reesor Siding 1963 Strike was one of the defining labour conflicts in Canadian history. The small francophone town of Reesor Siding is located approximately 50 kilometres from Kapuskasing, Ontario. Francophone means French-speaking. ...
Kapuskasing (2001 population 9,238) is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of northern Ontario, Canada. ...
1500 members of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union had gone on strike in January 1963, effectively emasculating the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company who relied on their lumber for wood pulp. Their chief complaint had been the company's indication that the workers may have to work 7 days a week, over the next two months to meet quota. Wood pulp is the most common material used to make paper. ...
After the strike, local farmers began selling their lumber to the Company instead, weakening the union's bargaining power. Estimates suggest that the farmers supplied as much as 110,000 cords of lumber, 25% of the company's needed annual input, during the 33-day strike. The cord is a unit of dry volume used in the United States to measure firewood. ...
The union organisers appealed to the farmers to stop undercutting their strike, but when they refused to give up their lucrative new market, the farmers found that large piles of lumber would sometimes be scattered by irate union members, making it unsaleable.
On February 10th, a shipment of 600 cords was scheduled to be loaded onto waiting railcars at midnight - and 400 unarmed union members had resolved to disrupt the shipment. Catching wind of their intentions, 12 Ontario Provincial Police met the 20 farmers at the loading station, and realised that 14 of them had brought rifles. The police erected a simple line made from chains to distinguish a point the union members and farmers were not allowed to cross, to try and contain the hostility. The Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) is the provincial police force for the province of Ontario, Canada. ...
However, once the striking employees arrived, they seemed to ignore the marker - and a number of the farmers stepped out of concealment in the hut by the tracks, and began shooting before the union members had reached the chain, in total 11 union members were shot. Fernand Drouin, and brothers Irenée and Joseph Fortier were killed, and eight others were wounded, including Harry Bernard, Ovila Bernard, Joseph Boily, Alex Hachey, Albert Martel, Joseph Mercier, Léo Ouimette and Daniel Tremblay. Some reports vary in the amount of wounded, suggesting between 7 and 12[1]
Firearms The firearms accounted for by police following the shooting consisted of The . ...
Remington pump-action shotgun held by a Florida Highway Patrol cadet shotgun, see: Shotgun (disambiguation). ...
Winchester rifle refers to an early family of repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company that was used widely in the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. ...
Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 with bayonet, scabbard attached The Lee-Enfield was the British armys standard bolt action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle from 1895 until 1956. ...
Eight . ...
The . ...
Legal proceedings All 20 farmers were charged with the shootings. 237 union members were charged with rioting. The union members were temporarily housed in the Monteith POW Camp north of Kapuskasing, until the charges were dismissed. Riots occur when crowds of people have gathered and are committing crimes or acts of violence usually due to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. ...
138 of the 237 union members charged with illegal assembly were found guilty, and the union paid $27,600 in fines.
The provincial court case against the farmers was held in Cochrane, Ontario through October under judge James Chalmers McRuer, and after 3 days of deliberations the 7-man jury found none of the farmers were found guilty of killing the striking employees. Paul-Emile Coulombe, Léonce Tremblay and Héribert Murray were charged with firearms violations arising from the incident, which resulted in $150 fine for each. Cochrane, Ontario, Canada is a northern Ontario town situated on Highway 11. ...
The provincial Ministry of Labour intervened in the labour dispute, settling it quickly to avoid future flareups. The striking workers returned to work on February 15th. See: Intervention (counseling) - an orchestrated attempt by family and friends to get a family member to get help for addiction or other similar problem. ...
Later, NDP leader Donald McDonald would announce that he had affadavits from the police indicating that they knew the farmers had brought firearms to the night's loading. NDP may stand for: National Day Parade in Singapore National Democratic Party, any one of many political parties of that name around the world National Development Plan in Ireland Nebraska Democratic Party, a political party in the U.S.A. New Democratic Party, a political party in Canada New Democratic...
An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, written down, signed, and witnessed (as to the veracity of the signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. ...
Aftermath In 1969, Stompin Tom Connors released his album On Tragedy Trail which chronicled various real and fictitious Canadian tragedies, including the Reesor shooting. He reported receiving death threats, ordering him not to play the song at upcoming venues.
See also Crowd gathered outside old City Hall during the Winnipeg General Strike, June 21, 1919 The Winnipeg General Strike was Canadas most influential labour action. ...
External links 1963 CBC Radio announcement | 
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