Interview Transcript:
Sebastien Sheldon: Jeff Leal is a former MPP representing Peterborough from 2003 to 2018. So, Jeff, why don’t you tell me a bit about your relationship with John and how you knew him.
Jeff Leal: Sure, and also Sebastien, just for the record I was a city councilor from 1985 to 2003 so, I had over three decades of public service. I got to know John and his colleagues after I became the member of provincial parliament for the riding of Peterborough in 2003. I had certainly been aware, you know, as part of the community and growing up with GE families and being part of that, that there was certainly a number of WSIB cases that were being processed particularly, Sebastien, for various forms of cancer. And as the science and data were advancing, there was sufficient evidence to certainly indicate that if one was exposed to a number of carcinogens, there was a direct link to the type of cancer that developed in many individuals. Sadly it took their lives and/or suffering for very long periods of time. And so, Sebastien, as I became, as I said the MPP in 2003, I became much more aware of the extent of the cases that John Ball was, and colleagues, were working with. John of course had a long career at Canadian General Electric, as it was called up until probably the mid 1980s when then the Canadian board was dissolved and it became GE, GE Peterborough, and he did a significant amount of work. He was quite a detective so to speak, in that he did an extensive a map of the GE plant, identified where employees were working with certain materials, where certain materials was, were stored, and that data and that science that he put together really became an important baseline as cases were coming before the WSIB to get them adjudicated.
Sebastien: So did you get much of a chance to work closely with John?
Jeff: They, John and his colleagues, Heather Brooks-Hill, Don McConnell, who you’ll get to know more about as you do your work, certainly we were meeting on a regular basis, and John knew my late father, so there was that connection. You know, I grew up with all these families that had mothers and fathers that worked at GE, so it was, in many ways it was very personal for me too.
Sebastien: Mhmm. Of course. So in, in your work with John, or in the time that you knew him, what quality in him impressed you the most?
Jeff: John was, first of all he was a very objective individual, Sebastien. I think, you know, he could see, I think he could see both sides of the issue. He was a man of impeccable integrity, and John was a man that was really interested in bringing justice and closure for individuals and families, which I think is extremely, extremely important through this.
Sebastien: So, a lot of people contributed to this movement forward with this issue…
Jeff: Yeah I mean you truly, Sebastien, I’ve always been a person that believe you truly stand on the shoulders of others.
Sebastien: Mhmm. Of course. And what impact do you think John brought to the table in terms of achieving justice for workers?
Jeff: If I could use that analogy, standing on the shoulders of others, John Ball had very broad shoulders that held up an awful lot of individuals to move these files forward.
Sebastien: That’s beautiful.
Jeff: If I could just share a bit of a personal side, I mean, John certainly encouraged me to make a submission on behalf of my own father, but I never did that ’cause I just, I never thought it was appropriate. But working with John and Minister Flynn, I had this sense of optimism that we were finally going to get to that presumptive framework which would have brought both closure and justice for a lot of families or individuals in Peterborough. And ultimately, for workers, Sebastien, right across the province of Ontario. Because when you look at the, the Ontario landscape, there are a lot of manufacturing operations that use some of the similar materials that are identified as carcinogens in many other communities across Ontario, and indeed Canada.
Sebastien: Well, Jeff, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview, I really appreciated the chance to speak with you.
Jeff: Hopefully, hopefully it was helpful, Sebastien.
Sebastien: Absolutely.
End of Interview