Remember loved ones lost, injured on National Day of Mourning

This Sunday, April 28, is the National Day of Mourning, a day to commemorate those who have died or been injured as a result of their job.

And as it has for many years, the Niagara Regional Labour Council will hold a ceremony outside Centennial Arena in Virgil, in front of the monument erected to recognize men and women who have been lost or injured at their workplace.

This year’s theme, Safe work now!, is a call to action for workers, decision-makers, and employers to take immediate and concrete steps to keep people safe at work, says a news release announcing Sunday’s services, says Lou Ann Binning, president of the Niagara Regional Labour Council in a news release

"Too many workers are still getting injured, falling ill or dying as a result of their job,” she says. “Work should be getting safer, but the numbers show that’s not happening.”

Here in the Niagara Region 89 workers were injured as at their job in 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Across Canada, there were 993 accepted workplace fatalities and 348,747 accepted lost time claims, marking a sharp rise in cases from the previous year, says Binning.

The National Day of Mourning, with 10 ceremonies held by the Niagara Regional Labour Council across Niagara, is always an emotional time in Virgil.

Every year, a small crowd gathers around the monument that was constructed after the death of Joel Murray, a husband and father who was killed in a workplace accident in 1998 at the GM plant where he worked. His family, including his wife and childhood sweetheart, Wendy Murray Nicholson, along with their son Thomas and daughter Pam, now attend with the grandchildren Joel never had the opportunity to meet to remember him, and remind others of the importance of learning about and enforcing workplace safety.

Last year there was a second service in Virgil, organized by Fire Chief Jay Plato, who told a small contingent of fire-fighting staff, volunteers and community members that in addition to remembering and honouring workers who have died or suffered physical or mental injury or illness due to workplace accidents, hazards, or harassment, the National Day of Mourning “is also a day to collectively renew our commitment to improve health and safety in the workplace and prevent further injuries, illnesses, and deaths.”

This year the town held its own memorial at the monument Friday morning, along with a flag-raising at town hall.

Also speaking at last year’s ceremony was Kit Andres on behalf of migrant farmerworkers, and who this year will share a few words in support of the family of Jeleel Stewart, a 49-year-old seasonal farmworker who was injured on the job shortly after his arrival in Niagara in 2008. Stewart passed away in Jamaica this year, and Andres will have sympathy cards for people to sign to send to the family in Jamaica.

Binning will also be at Sunday’s Virgil ceremony.

”Work should be getting safer, but the numbers show that’s not happening,” says Binning, “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.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Westray Law, named for the 26 workers in Plymouth, Nova Scotia who lost their lives in the 1996 Westray Mine explosion. Following that disaster, Binning explains, Canada’s unions – led by the United Steelworkers – lobbied for change, so that employers could be convicted of criminal negligence.

"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,” says Binning.

However, since its inception, only a handful of criminal charges have been laid, due to inconsistent and insufficient enforcement of the law, she says, and most of these cases resulted in fines, which major corporations can easily pay.

“When criminal negligence leads to a death, people need to go to jail. Political leaders also still defer to business interests by weakening health and safety legislation, both provincially and federally.”

Yet, she adds, “Decision makers continue to put workers’ safety and well-being at risk by prioritizing business interests. Lives are at stake and we can’t keep waiting: our governments have a responsibility to do everything in their power to ensure workers’ safety. We cannot allow employers’ bottom lines to dictate Canada’s health and safety agenda. The Westray Law must be enforced as it was intended, and employers must be made to comply and keep workers safe.”

The annual NOTL service will be held this Sunday in Virgil at the Centennial Arena, beginning at 9:15 a.m.