Interview Transcript:
Sebastien Sheldon: For this video interview I’m here with Bob DeMatteo, an occupational health and safety specialist who has worked on several reports and studies regarding the GE plant in Peterborough. So Bob, tell me a bit about your relationship with John and how you knew him.
Robert DeMatteo: Yeah, well, I knew of John by reputation, you know, I worked for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union as their health and safety director in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and the ’00s, and we always heard of John Ball’s work at GE as a very strong activist. So I knew of him, and then we moved out here, and I got involved with an old friend from the Canadian Auto Workers, Jim Gill, who brought me to a labour council meeting, and that’s where I first met John in the flesh. And at that time, you know, I joined with John in a project to systematically document what exposures were like at GE and, and to try to demonstrate how these exposures produced the numerous work-related diseases at the plant, you know? So that’s how I became embroiled with John. He’s my neighbour, he just lived down the road, so we were in touch quite a bit until, you know, he passed away. And that was very sad.
Sebastien: So did you, you got a chance to know him a bit more when he, when you guys became closer, like, geographically?
Robert: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he was a frequent guest at our house, you know, with dinners and very long conversations about, you know, his experiences at GE. And of course, you know, he began to, I guess, you know, physically, he was deteriorating, and so that we would, you know, we would bring food over to his place, and made sure that he was eating okay, and taking care of himself, so we would look on him and have, again, our long conversations, and John was quite a story teller. And, you know, so, and he was, he meant a lot to us, you know? He … a real activist, had his heart in the right place, you know? You know, let me just say about John, you know, in terms of what I will remember him for, you know, and his qualities were, one was an activist for justice first and foremost. Throughout his work at GE for over thirty years, and then during his retirement, you know, he just didn’t drop the ball. He just did not let this go, you know? And his other quality was his tenaciousness, you know? What I most admired in John was his tenacity to keep this fight for justice alive. And also his intellectual curiosity. He loved every minute of consuming volumes of materials on occupational disease and chemicals and the agents that produced them. And he also educated others about this occupational epidemic, you know? John fought tirelessly to have these diseases recognized by the WSIB and the Ministry of Labour, and he was uncompromising in this fight.
Sebastien: So, Bob, my last question for you is gonna be what impact you believed that John’s work had on achieving justice. It seems like, well, you have mentioned that a bit already, is there anything else you wanted to add to it?
Robert: No, I think, you know, the impact he had is by enlightening people to the seriousness of this epidemic. You know, we, we’re fighting this epidemic currently, you know, with COVID-19, but there’s also the epidemic of occupational disease and injuries out there that workers suffer everyday. And there are thousands of them that really don’t get addressed properly. And John’s impact was that he was able to, in this, you know, fight for justice, is to put this on the front burner, you know? And to make sure that it, you know, they got, he left a real legacy here, you know? I mean the action committee that continues on with his work, you know, owe an awful lot to John’s inspiration, John’s enthusiasm to learn, to study, to inform himself and others. You know, so he leaves a very lasting impact, and the fact that we’re, you know, getting the attention of the Workers Compensation Board and the Ministry of Labour, you know on occupational disease, you know, the fact that we have a clinic, an occupational health clinic in Peterborough today, is due in part to John’s work, along with his colleagues. You know, there are many heroes in this fight, you know, and John was a significant one.
Sebastien: Well, Bob, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you and hearing your wonderful responses. I want to thank you so much for doing this interview and taking the time out of your day to be here.
Robert: Well thank you, Sebastien.
End of Interview