Canada’s National Day of Mourning was marked Friday afternoon at Barrie City Hall with a sombre flag-raising and a moment of silence for workers who did not make it home.
April 28, which is Sunday, is dedicated to honouring workers who have died, have been injured or suffered an illness due to their work.
“If we can keep the Ministry of Labour standards and employers following the labour laws, when it comes to health and safety, then hopefully one day we won’t have to have a Day of Mourning, because hopefully no one will die at work,” said Anne Marie Brunner, who's the new president of the Barrie and District Labour Council.
The National Day of Mourning is a special one for Wayne Harris, 54, a Brooklin, Ont., resident, who was injured in 2012 while working for a sprinkler fire protection company.
“I was trying to remove a piece of pipe while up on a ladder and the pipe wouldn’t break its seal, so I went with the wrench to take another bite, they call it,” he said at the Barrie City Hall courtyard. "When I let go of the wrench, the ladder flicked me off and I came out of the ceiling and I tried to grab for the ladder to stop my fall … and I got my arm all caught up in the rungs of the ladder and fell.
“I’ve had seven shoulder surgeries now because of this injury and it’s been a long road,” added Harris, who has had a full shoulder replacement
Every year, thousands of workers in Canada are injured or killed on the job.
According to the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada, in 2022, there were 993 workplace fatalities recorded in Canada, 33 of which were young workers aged 15 to 24.
Additionally, 348,747 accepted claims were reported to the boards for lost time due to work-related injuries or diseases.
These statistics only include what is reported and accepted by the compensation boards. It is predicted that the total number of workers affected is much greater.
But there are ways to mitigate these figures.
“Training and making sure that every job — it does not have to be a union job, it has to be any job — that people are trained properly and that the employers are following the rules, and that the employees have had enough proper training that they go home at the end of the night,” said Brunner, who’s also vice-president of CUPE Local 3987, which represents custodians with Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board.
And 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.
“I think this is a really important day to remember and talk about what has happened,” said Coun. Clare Riepma, subbing for Mayor Alex Nuttall. “We want everyone to be safe.”
Andrew Mudge, executive director of the Ontario Workers Health and Safety Centre, spoke of petro chemicals and toxic inventories in the workplace, and how employees must be protected from them.
“Now is no time for half measures,” he said. “Occupational disease is the highest killer of workers in Ontario.”
For more on Canada’s National Day of Mourning, click here or visit the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
