Thirty Years After Westray Disaster, Families Say Justice Still Rare in Worker Deaths

Allen and Debbie Martin touch the monument engraved with the names of the 26 coal miners who perished in the Westray mine disaster, at the Westray Miners Memorial Park in New Glasgow, N.S. on May 9, 2017. The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

Family members who lost loved ones in the Westray coal mining disaster will mark the 30th anniversary today in a ceremony at a memorial park in New Glasgow, N.S., not far from the mine.

Genesta Halloran-Peters, who will give an address at the gathering, says the loss of her husband John Halloran had a huge impact on the direction of her life and the lives of her two children, with his absence felt “on every special occasion.”