Day of Mourning ceremonies honour workers killed on the job

Wreaths and roses are placed at national monument to remember workplace victims

Ottawa (28 April 2006 - Hundreds of labour, political and community representatives attended a sunlit ceremony in a quiet Ottawa park on Friday to honour the nearly 1,000 workers who are killed and injured each year on the job in Canada.

Nearly one million more workplace injuries are reported annually. Separate ceremonies were held in scores of other towns and cities across the country and around the world.

The Ottawa ceremony, organized by the Canadian Labour Congress and the Ottawa and District Labour Council, was attended by Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn, NDP MP Libby Davies, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli and numerous others. The ceremony took place in Vicent Massey Park, where a national monument in honour of workplace victims has stood for the past two decades. The origins of the annual observance dates back 28 years.

National Day of Mourning Monument, Vincent Massey Park, Ottawa
Robert Blakely	Dominique Vaillancourt
Deborah Bourque, CLC vice-president
Alex Munter	Bob Chiarelli and Sean McKenny
Libby Davies, NDP MP	Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn

"I wish to express my sympathy to the workers, and their families, friends and colleagues, who have been touched by occupational accident and illness," said Blackburn. "I believe that the best way to honour these victims and their families is to work towards safer and healthier workplaces. There can be no better vehicle than education, awareness and co-operation to help us prevent tragic workplace accidents."

In December 1990, the government of Canada passed the Workers Mourning Day Act, which established April 28th as the official day to be observed every year to commemorate workers injured or killed on the job, or who suffer from occupational illnesses. The flag atop the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill and flags at all federal buildings across the country flew at half mast in honour of the occasion.

In addition to the federal minister, several other speakers also addressed the large and attentive crowd assembled for the occasion. Included were Jeff Adams, co-chair of the National Day of Mourning Committee; Dominique Vaillancourt, master of ceremonies; Mayor Chiarelli; Ms. Davies; Robert Blakely of the Canadian Building Trades; Deborah Bourque, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and a national CLC vice-president; and Sean McKenny, president of the Ottawa and District Labour Council.

Wreaths and red roses were place at the national monument at the conclusion of the ceremony by representatives of a large number of unions and worker organizations, including the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). NUPGE