The Ontario Mine Rescue Training Academy in Greater Sudbury is one step closer to reality after dignitaries and safety advocates attended a ground-honouring ceremony Tuesday. The 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility from Workplace Safety North will serve as a training and development centre for professionals who help protect workers and communities across the province. It will also provide space for specialized training for mine rescue volunteers. The 124 acres of property along Frood Road at the Lasalle extension, near the roundabout, was donated by the City of Greater Sudbury. The $125-million project will be funded by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Ontario Mine Rescue’s Shawn Rideout told CTV News the academy will contain props and special structures where they can teach mine rescue professionals and about 1,200 mine rescue volunteers across Ontario. “Right now, when we deliver things like rope rescue training because we are on the mine property, and the sheer size of the province, we can train them on ropes maybe once or twice a year,” Rideout said. “With the facility, we’ll be able to bring them to our site and be able to train them for five or six days. So, give them a much more advanced knowledge of something like high-angle rope rescue.” “We have two ponds at the back, we could do water rescue and we can do line power rescue with the power lines. We have cliffs along Lasalle that we can use for rope repelling,” said Mike Parent, the President and CEO of Workplace Safety North. “Plus, we’re going to have a rope tower, confined space entry, smoke tunnels.” “Our friends at the Ministry of Labour would frown if we lit a fire underground and then had the teams put it out,” Rideout said. “This is going to give us the ability to replicate those emergencies very life-like but also very safe.” “The WSIB calls this an investment in safety and an investment in the community and for all the miners to keep them safe,” said president and CEO Jeff Lang. “Investment in health and safety has a very high return on investment. For every dollar an employer spends on prevention, they save $2.15 on claim costs.” “It’s going to create a culture here in Sudbury as a world leader in health and safety in the mining sector. This is a world-class area for mining,” Lang added. A red maple tree removed from the property will be returned and replanted once the facility is complete. The event, on June 16, was considered ‘ground honouring,’ as several members from Wahnapitae First Nation offered a smudging and prayer. Construction will begin early this fall, with the facility set to open in 2029.
