Mourning together from afar
Canadians to honour National Day of Mourning at home for second year on April 28
This will be the second year that Canadian workers and their families mark the National Day of Mourning at home, where they are encouraged to light a candle in memory of those who’ve been injured or killed on worksites in Canada.
Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff says commemorating the day is perhaps more important than ever this year, as frontline workers are disproportionately having to face the COVID-19 pandemic on the job.
“A lot of people are being exposed to COVID-19 as a result of their workplace and even dying as a result of that infection,” says Yussuff.
“People go to work to save their families, not to get injured, so it’s important that consciousness around this is raised at work, and also within government and companies, to do better.”
A DAY OF INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE
Canadians began officially observing the National Day of Mourning in 1991 as a way to pay their respects to people who have been killed, injured or suffered illness as a result of work-related incidents.
The event is no longer observed just within Canada. Since 1991, the commemorative day has spread to more than 100 countries around the world, with international groups like the United Nations and the International Labour Organization also supporting and observing the day.
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), which first declared and marked the day in 1985, is the largest labour organization in Canada. It brings together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and communitybased labour councils and represents more than three million workers across the country.
Yussuff says the National Day of Mourning is a day that means a lot not only to workers, but to the families and communities impacted by these tragic accidents. For a second year in a row, the CLC is asking Canadians to light a candle to commemorate the Day of Mourning on April 28 safely in their own homes instead of meeting at inperson gatherings.
The CLC will also ramp up online efforts again this year, providing shareable graphics to remind people of the important efforts that must be taken to prevent illness and loss of life in the workplace.
“It’s a day on which we bring attention to workers who were injured, workers who were killed on the job and, more importantly, why we need government and employers to do more to prevent this from happening,” says Yussuff.
“And it’s not just a national day for commemoration, but one where workers and activities traditionally, before the pandemic, have gathered in their communities at monuments built there to bring attention to accidents that have happened.”
TRAGEDIES STILL HAPPENING
The Atlantic region has experienced tragic workplace accidents like the 1992 Westray mine disaster in Plymouth, N.S., which prompted legislation on workplace accidents and the prosecution of them through the Criminal Code of Canada.
But even with those changes, there are still 1,000 people who die on worksites in Canada each year. Beyond our borders, Yussuff says the number of annual workplace deaths sits closer to 1 million.
“There needs to be a stronger adherence to workplace inspections and more holding employers accountable for violations and for prosecuting under the Criminal Code when serious accidents, injuries and deaths happen,” says Yussuff.
“Even after Westray there has been very little prosecution. We need employers and government to take this seriously.”
Workplacenl will also be joining all Canadians again this year as the country commemorates this important day at home. The organization reports that in 2020, 35 people lost their lives at work in Newfoundland and Labrador — 13 due to fatal incidents and 22 due to occupational disease — and many more were injured.
Workplacenl CEO Dennis Hogan is encouraging everyone to keep health and safety top of mind both at work and at home as the world continues to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic so that they can do their part in keeping frontline workers as safe as possible.
“Losing someone this way brings unimaginable grief to families, workplaces and communities,” says Hogan.
SUPPORT NEEDED FOR ALL WORKERS
Yussuff says official statistics on workplace deaths, injuries and illnesses are based on compensable deaths statistics, meaning workers who have benefits through their workplace and whose families have made claims after an injury, death or illness.
With many workers working in temporary positions or without benefits, he says these numbers do not reflect the true number of workers impacted, as those without benefits are not captured within official numbers.
“There are a whole lot of people who fall through the cracks, so this number is actually much higher than 1,000 deaths per year in Canada,” says Yussuff.
Instituting paid time off to get tested or vaccinated, as well as paid sick time so workers know they have a job to return to should they contract COVID-19, is part of what Yussuff says is needed to protect frontline workers. It’s something he says could also help with vaccine hesitancy.
“There is data suggesting about 30 per cent of people are vaccine-hesitant. Not getting paid could be part of that hesitancy. This pay would protect the employee and also the workplace from being shut down,” he says.
And again this year, Canadians will commemorate those who have died, been injured or became ill as a result of workplace incidents in the hopes that it helps to reinforce the importance of proper health and safety protocols that keep workers safe on worksites in Canada.
“It doesn’t matter what environment you’re working in — proper health and safety is fundamental. It only takes a split second for a terrible accident to happen that could take a life,” says Yussuff.