Interview Transcript:
Sebastien Sheldon: I’m here with Justin O’Neill, whose father Leo O’Neill was a former worker of the GE plant in Peterborough. So, Justin, tell me a little bit about your relationship with John and how you met him.
Justin O’Neill: So, I knew John through my father for years. My father and John Ball were extremely close, and so they would be talking on the phone almost every night I could hear them talking on the phone, so I just knew him more as a family friend to be quite honest with you, throughout my childhood, and then the last time I saw him, actually, was at my father’s funeral, so. And actually while my father was sick, he came to visit him quite a few times. But, more or less, the relationship was between he and my father and that just, you know, I knew him through my dad.
Sebastien: So, from what you knew of John, whether they were your own experiences or stories that you heard, what quality in him impressed you the most?
Justin: Oh, from everything I’ve ever heard, you know, whether it was from my father or from anyone else, he was a real man with integrity. Somebody that was really trying to do what was right for people. He spent a quite a few years trying to, trying to make people aware of some of the things that were happening in the workplace that were not right, and that were not just, and that’s what I knew of John. He was just, you know, seems like a very standup person.
Sebastien: And what impact do you believe that John’s work, as an advocate for this issue, what impact do you believe he had on achieving justice for workers that were injured?
Justin: Well I think that the impact so far, everything he’s done has been instrumental. I mean, I’ve seen documentaries on TV about it. I think there’s a general awareness about what happened in there, I mean I can’t really comment too much beyond that, but I think that he really did gather people and make them aware of what was, what had to happen and what was going on in there.
Sebastien: Of course. Justin, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. It was a pleasure getting the chance to hear from you.
Justin: Hey, no problem.
End of Interview