C.A.F. soldiers and a machine gun

Abstract

Calling in the C.A.F. to quell the riots and stop the strike did end the disturbances for the most part. Hundreds of miners were arrested and martial law was declared in the district. The presence of the C.A.F. caused even more bitterness on the part of the miners. When some of the miners were forced to return to the mines for financial reasons, they were condemned by the more militant miners and called scabs. Nanaimo and its surrounding communities remained bitterly divided for many years. Decades later the bitterness still lingered, even though coal mining had virtually ceased in the area.