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Work Issues (14)
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Camera on Labour No. 2Tim Wilson & Alvin Goldman 1956 10 minUnions Build Low Rent Housing: Autumn-winter construction of Ottawa's Mooretown housing development, brain-child of the local council of the Trades and Labor Congress, eliminates seasonal unemployment for bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters. New Life for Ghost Town Miners: Aided by the provincial government, jobless mine workers of Alberta move from Nordegg and other abandoned coal mining areas to obtain new work elsewhere in Canada. -
Coal Face, CanadaRobert Edmonds 1943 20 minA young man, discharged from the army, returns to his coal town. As he wanders the streets, he sees that life remains much as he left it. He takes a room with a miner who had known his father and who recalls the tragedy of his death in the mines. When the young dischargee attends a union meeting he hears the labourers speak of their relation to the war effort and, realizing the importance of coal to victory, he joins a night shift and goes to work in the mine.
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Eye Witness No. 68Walford Hewitson , Douglas Wilkinson , … 1954 10 minBirth of a Book: A look at the Canadian literary field showing authors who have made the grade, such as Morley Callaghan, Hugh MacLennan, Gabrielle Roy and Roger Lemelin. Eskimo Work Arctic Coal Mine: Baffin Island Inuit of Pond Inlet find easy cash and a ready market for the product of their surface coal mine. Dispatch Riders Perform Cycle Capers In Kingston, Ontario: the display team of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals stages a dare-devil motorcycling exhibition.
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Eye Witness No. 81Alvin Goldman & Hector Lemieux 1955 10 minNew Life for Ghost Town Miners: Aided by the provincial government, jobless mine workers of Alberta move from Nordegg and other abandoned coal-mining areas to obtain new work elsewhere in Canada. School for Frogmen: Officers and men of the Royal Canadian Navy's Operational Diving Unit at Halifax undergo rigorous training courses to equip them for sub-surface duties.
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The Last GlacierRoger Frappier & Jacques Leduc 1984 1 h 23 minSchefferville, a single-industry town, is closing down because the mine that gave it birth has ceased operation. There is a general exodus. The film singles out Raoul and Carmen, for whom the demise of the town signals the irrevocable breakdown of their marriage. Professional actors mix smoothly with the local population to heighten the documentary aspect of this drama. The resulting docudrama illustrates the vulnerability of the citizens of these artificially created towns. With English sub-titles.
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MinerRobin Spry 1966 19 minImpressions of a hardrock miner's life, suitable for the classroom, filmed at the Falconbridge Nickel Mine at Sudbury, Ontario, and showing also the increasing use of nickel in today's space age. Much of what is shown was filmed in the dim world far underground where, "in a bubble of air in a solid mass of rock," the miner drills the ore face.
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NormetalGilles Groulx 1960 17 minFilmed in the town of Normétal in northern Québec, this short documentary provides a first-hand introduction to life in a frontier mining community where all roads lead to the pithead. Dweller of two worlds, the copper miner's life is one of contrasts. A mile underground are the rock face, the clattering drills, the dust of explosions; above ground, all the familiar activities of a small town.
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Partners in Production1944 36 minThe opening scenes of this film recall the grim days of Dunkirk. We see Britain in that time of crisis girding herself for the siege with the organization of Civil Defence and ARP, and the formation of the Home Guard. On the industrial side, the film shows readjustments made to increase production, such as the absorption of women into war factories and the setting up of labour-management committees. In describing how these committees functioned in the coal industry, the film demonstrates the importance of total democracy in waging total war.
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People of the RockClarke Daprato 1961 13 minThis film follows an Inuit family's journey to the North Rankin nickel mine. How the hunters became bulldozer and machine operators is explained.
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The Riches of OthersMaurice Bulbulian 1973 1 h 34 minThis 1973 doc about social struggle draws a parallel between the exploitation of Quebec’s miners and mineral wealth and similar circumstances in Chile. The injustices inflicted on these men are condemned by both René Lévesque and Salvador Allende. The miners themselves are also given the opportunity to speak out. Richesse des autres offers 94 minutes of testimonies by Quebecers and Chileans on a situation that’s unanimously denounced.
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Stone MakersJean-Marc E. Roy 2016 5 minA routine workday in a granite quarry turns surreptitiously into a captivating industrial symphony. While men work in the background, different equipment and machines perform for the camera as if they are individual dancers in a contemporary ballet.
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Salvador Allende Gossens: A TestimonyMaurice Bulbulian & Michel Gauthier 1974 18 minA brief acquaintance with the president of Chile before his assassination in September, 1973. In 1972, several miners from Québec went to Chile to observe mining operations there. They also met with the President of the Republic. Salvador Allende explains, publicly at a meeting of icampanneros r, as well as in a conference with the visitors, the revolutionary socio-economic reforms he envisages for his country, which include nationalization of the copper industry. René Lévesque, Théo Gagné and Joseph Gosselin appear in the film. (A film for all students of political change. With English subtitles).
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WestrayPaul Cowan 2001 1 h 19 minIn this feature documentary, filmmaker Paul Cowan offers an innovative, moving account of the Westray coal mine disaster that killed 26 men in Nova Scotia on May 9, 1992. The film focuses on the lives of three widows and three miners lucky enough not to be underground that day when the methane and coal dust ignited. But their lives were torn apart by the events.
Meet some of the working men, who felt they had no option but to stay on at Westray. And wives, who heard the rumours, saw their men sometimes bloodied from accidents and stood by them, hoping it would all turn out all right. This is a film about working people everywhere whose lives are often entrusted to companies that violate the most fundamental rules of safety and decency in the name of profit. -
Where You Goin' Company Town?Stephen W. Dewar 1975 27 minThis short documentary examines the changing relations between labour and management in the long-established company town of Trail, BC, in which 90% of the workforce is employed by Cominco, the world’s largest lead-zinc smelter. The metal workers in the town are outspoken about the health risks associated with their line of work, and a debate about unionization ensues. The days of paternalistic management are gone, and the emphasis is now on participation and involvement. An eventual strike over dissatisfaction with labour relations turns violent when management, union executives, and workers clash over competing interests.
