Interviewed by Phil Legg

Neil Menard was born in Nipawin, in northern Saskatchewan. His father worked in the forest industry, and so did Neil when he left school. At the behest of a friend, Neil joined the navy. He became a signalman and served on the HMCS Fraser and, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, on the HMCS St. Laurent.

When he returned from the navy, Neil worked a few years alternating between hockey and forestry work in the winter, and construction projects in the summer. He was badly hurt working in a pulp mill and when he recovered he ran a friends’ restaurant in Choiceland, SK.

By chance, a few local officials of the International Woodworkers of America stopped by the restaurant one day. Neil overheard them talk about the need to hire a local business agent, and told them he was interested. They hired him. About a year later, he won election as the local president and came to the attention of Jack Munro, president of the IWA–Canada. Munro said they needed a vice-president from the Prairies and wanted Neil to fill the post. He took the job, and his growing family moved to Coquitlam.

Neil describes his work setting up an employee and family assistance program to help workers and their families deal with alcohol and drug addiction. The IWA won the right to set up the program in negotiations with the B.C. forest industry and then won buy-in from MacMillan Bloedel. The IWA program spread across the country and other unions joined or followed suit. It broke ground, Neil says, because up to the that point, employers and other workers would just turn their heads when someone was struggling with addiction.

Addiction was more than just another issue to Neil. His father was an alcoholic and, as a young man, Neil was a heavy drinker. He realized in his late 20s that if he ever wanted a family and wanted to be a better father than his own father, he needed to stop drinking. And he did.

He turned his attention to health and safety issues in the industry, and especially the plight of fallers, the workers who cut down the trees and too often paid for the work with their lives. In negotiations, the IWA won the creation of a health and safety fund paid by the employers. That led to the establishment of a joint board, the Safety Advisory Foundation for Education and Research, or Safer, run by the IWA, the Interior Forest Labour Relations Association, and Forest Industrial Relations.

Neil retired to Merritt, BC. He had an acreage out of town where he kept horses. One day, a friend suggested he run for city council. He sold the acreage, moved into town, and was elected first as a councillor, then as mayor.

Neil died of cancer on July 17, 2024, one month after this interview.

 

Keywords

Nipawin, SK; Saskatchewan Timber Board; Royal Canadian Navy; HMCS Fraser; HMCS St. Laurent; Cuban Missile Crisis; Campbell River, BC; Ironworkers Local 97; Prince Albert, SK; pulp mill; International Woodworkers of America (IWA); Bob Blanchard; Ernie Clark; Bob Schlausser; Wyman Trineer; Alex Smith; MacMillan Bloedel (M&B); Jack Munro; Saskatchewan Federation of Labour; Coquitlam, BC; IWA Regional Council #1; Jim Stimson; Roger Stanyer; Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU); health and safety; fallers; forestry industry; workplace injuries; alcoholism; drug and alcohol dependence; employee assistance programs (EAP); employee and family assistance programs (EFAP); Safety Advisory Foundation for Education and Research; SAFER Council; Roberta Ellis; Council of Forest Industries; Burt Hawrysh; Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB); Merritt, BC; municipal politics; family

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