Day of Mourning ceremonies a reminder of renewing commitment to health and safety
April 28 is the National Day of Mourning, a day to remember and honour those lives lost or injured due to a workplace tragedy.
It is also a day to collectively renew commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace and to preventing further injuries, illnesses and deaths.
According to the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada, there were 993 workplace fatalities recorded in Canada in 2022. Among these deaths were 33 young workers aged 15 to 24.
Add to these fatalities the 348,747 accepted claims (an increase of 71,530 from the previous year) for lost time due to a work-related injury or disease, including 40,203 from workers aged 15-24, and the fact these statistics only include what is reported and accepted by the compensation boards, there is no doubt the total number of workers impacted is even greater.
“Unfortunately, despite tremendous work to adopt best practices, when taken as a whole construction is the fourth highest occupation group for workplace fatalities at 20.2 deaths per 100,000 workers,” said Robert Kucheran, Chair of the Canadian Executive Board of Canada’s Building Trades Unions.
More than that, with each worker tragedy there are loved ones, family members, friends and co-workers who are directly affected, left behind, and deeply impacted – their lives also forever changed.
“We must remember the dead and continue to fight for the living,” said CBTU executive director, Sean Strickland. “One life lost on the job is too many.”
Canada’s Parliament passed the Workers Mourning Day Act in 1991, making April 28 an official Day of Mourning. The day since spread to more than 100 countries around the world and is recognized as Workers’ Memorial Day, and as International Workers' Memorial Day by the International Labour Organisation and the International Trade Union Confederation.
“It is the hope of CCOHS that the annual observance of this day will help strengthen the resolve to establish safe and healthy conditions in the workplace, and prevent further injuries, illnesses, and deaths,” said a statement from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. “As much as this is a day to remember those who have lost their lives, it is also a call to protect the living and make work a place where people are safe and can thrive.”