Sunday was a day of mourning for workers and their families across Canada who have lost colleagues and loved ones to workplace fatalities.
A small crowd gathered on a rainy morning around the Workers Memorial at Queensway and Patricia Boulevard for a ceremony to remember those who have suffered work-related deaths and life-changing injuries.
“Too many workers are still getting injured, falling ill or dying as a result of their job,” said Matt Baker, president of the North Central Labour Council.
“Work should be getting safer, but the numbers show that’s not happening. One workplace death is already unacceptable. Hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries and illnesses per year is unconscionable. Workers have a right to a job that doesn’t make them sick and work that gets them home safe to their loved ones every day.”
The event is held annually on April 28 on the 20th anniversary of the Westray Law, named after the 26 workers who died in the 1996 Westray Mine explosion in Pyymouth, N.S..
A public outcry led by Canada’s labour unions led to changes in federal law that allows prosecution of negligent corporations proved criminally responsible for workplace injuries and deaths. But since that 2004 legal decision, only a few criminal charges have been laid in most cases the company was forced to pay a fine rather than face a jail sentence.
“Employers and governments must invest in prevention,” said Baker. “Workers will not stand by while employers cut corners on health and safety to save a few dollars. It is essential that governments commit to and resource robust enforcement of health and safety regulations.
“The Westray Law must be properly enforced so that negligent employers are held criminally accountable. A worker’s life is worth more than some paltry fine, and we will not accept that the loss of life of even one person is just the cost of doing business.”
According to WorkSafe BC, 175 B.C. workers died last year of work-related causes and seven of those death claims were people in the Fraser-Fort George Regional District.
Three of them were young workers, between the ages of 15 and 24.
Ninety-three British Columbians died of occupational diseases, including 48 related to asbestos contamination.
Eighty-two died of traumatic injuries and 22 were killed in motor vehicle accidents.
There were four million lost work hours in the province due to workplace injuries.
