Hanging by a thread as dead workers are honoured

Sept. 13, 2009, is a day that is etched in Paulette Raymond’s memory forever.

She was sleeping at home when she received a phone call from her sister saying their brother Tommy, a dockyard worker in Halifax, was killed in a workplace accident.

Nearly a decade later, Raymond fought back tears as she addressed a crowd gathered in Trenton Park on Saturday, there to honour the National Day of Mourning for those killed in workplace accidents.

“My brother Tommy Raymond went to work and never came home,” said Raymond in her speech. “I miss him every single day of my life.”

Raymond recounted how she sank to the floor on her knees and hugged herself as the tears flowed for her little brother.

As Tommy’s big sister, Raymond was distraught that she could not be there for Tommy when he needed her the most.

“He was my little brother, full of mischief, full of laughter, full of life,” said Raymond. “His grin could light up a room.”

She soon learned that Tommy was trying to fit a twist lock when he dropped the tool and lost his balance while attempting to retrieve it from under a tractortrailer. The driver moved his vehicle, unaware that Tommy was still underneath it.

She met the driver at Tommy’s funeral, where the two embraced. The Raymond family still keeps him in their prayers.

Later, while standing at Tommy’s graveside, Raymond promised that her brother’s death would not be in vain.

Raymond joined Threads of Life, where she met others who had lost loved ones in workplace accidents.

“Our hearts are still broken,” said Raymond.

As people gathered to remember Tommy Raymond and others like him, the Pictou County Injured Workers’ Association called on the province to make reporting all workplace accidents mandatory.

Association president Mary Lloyd also said that employers who ignore safety procedures should be made to pay until they either clean up their act or go out of business.

“Those employers should be made an example of,” said Lloyd. “It’s unacceptable in the province of Nova Scotia to kill and injure and make sick our workers.”

Pictou West MLA Karla MacFarlane told The News that any future Progressive Conservative government would sit down with workers’ advocates to discuss fair penalties for employers who cut corners on safety.

She also agreed with Lloyd that workplace accidents must be reported to provincial authorities.

“Certainly, I would have to look at the legislation,” said MacFarlane.