The large group of people who gathered at Laurentian University's Fraser auditorium Tuesday to commemorate the 31st annual Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, were asked to continue wearing their “rose-coloured glasses” in the hope a day of mourning may one day no longer be necessary.
Leo Gerard, the international president of the United Steelworkers, made the plea in an effort to create optimism when workers in Ontario continue to be killed or injured on the job.
Gerard said the official opening of Laurentian's Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH) research laboratory Monday marked a positive step to improve occupational health and safety.
He said the Workers Health and Safety Centre on Elm Street also helps make workplaces safer by providing important health and safety training.
“We don't need a provincial government that's going to cut the ability of these agencies to do the work that has to be done if we want to have a better province and a safer province,” he said.
Jamie West, president of the Sudbury and District Labour Council, said he was “sick and tired” of having to mourn for more people who have lost their lives in the workplace each year.
West said workplace fatalities have increased by 36 per cent from 2008 to 2013.
From 2010 to 2014, 3,800 Canadians died on the job, he said.
Many more were injured at work, and others have never reported injuries or illnesses they've gotten on the job.
West read a letter written by Tracy Chenier, the widow of Jason Chenier, who was killed in Vale's Stobie Mine on June 8, 2011, in which she shared her heartache and described the hole his absence has left in her life.
“My children will never know their father,” she wrote.
Tracy could not be at the ceremony because she was at the Sudbury Courthouse, where an inquest into her husband's death is ongoing.
The Day of Mourning started in Sudbury, but is now recognized around the world.
Original story
Each year, in communities across Canada, Day of Mourning ceremonies are held on April 28 to remember and honour workers who have been injured or killed on the job.
It is also a day to raise awareness about the issue of workplace safety and the continual need to minimize the risks workers face when they leave the house each day.
There are two ceremonies held in Greater Sudbury each year. The first (pictured here) was held in the Fraser Auditorium at Laurentian University.
A second ceremony is held at the Steelworkers Hall on Brady Street.
Stories and photos from both events will be posted to NorthernLife.ca this afternoon.
