Thursday marks National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job.
Across Midwestern Ontario, workers killed or injured on the job will be remembered by local labour reps, students and politicians.
There will be a service in Owen Sound on the steps of City Hall, and in Hanover at Heritage Square across from the Civic Centre. Both events start at 11amm. Speakers will be at each location, including two students whose essays were selected by the Grey-Bruce Labour Council. Bruce Power usually holds it's own event on site.
Every year, over 900 workers are killed at jobsites in Canada, and every year nearly a quarter million hours are lost to workplace injuries and illnesses. These are injuries that are reported. Many more are not reported because workers are afraid of losing their jobs.
In 1984, the Day of Remembrance was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress. In 1991, April 28 was officially recognized by the federal government as the National Day of Mourning.
The day has since spread to some 80 countries around the world.
This year, the Labour Council is putting the focus on asbestos. Some 2,000 people in Canada are still dying from exposure to asbestos. Since 1996, asbestos-related diseases have caused a third of workplace deaths.
