HAMILTON, ON (April 15, 2009) – The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is reminding employees and employers that April 28th is National Day of Mourning in Canada. This day is set aside to honour those workers across the country whose lives have been lost, injured or disabled on the job, or suffer from occupational diseases.
The Day of Mourning was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, eight years after the day of remembrance was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress. The Day of Mourning has since spread to about 80 countries around the world and has been adopted by the AFL-CIO and the International Confederation of Free Trade.
In 2007, 1,055* workplace deaths were recorded in Canada - up from 976 the previous year. This represents almost 3 (2.89) deaths every single day. Another 972,407** were injured or become ill.
CCOHS reminds employees and employers that the Day of Mourning offers them an opportunity to not only remember but to publicly renew their commitment to improve health and safety in the workplace.
To help promote awareness in the workplace of this important day, CCOHS has designed a bilingual poster made available free of charge. The poster can be previewed on the CCOHS website and has more information about the National Day of Mourning.
* Data collected by the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada.