Wet and windy weather has forced some last-minute changes to this year's Day of Mourning ceremony in Windsor.
Organizers had hoped to hold their ceremony at Coventry Gardens while their counterparts in Detroit held their own on Belle Isle. The highlight would have been participants on both sides of the Detroit River dropping carnations into the water.
Member of Windsor's Day of Mourning committee, Benn McBride, said organizers in Detroit pulled out because of the weather, but the event in Windsor will go ahead.
The ceremony starts at 5 p.m. on Friday in Reaume Park.
McBride said holding an international ceremony would signify that workplace deaths and injuries are a problem everywhere.
"There actually are more than 100 countries that observe the Day of Mourning," he said, adding the ceremony is in honour of all workers, not just those who belong to a union.
While there were no local workplace deaths this year, two men not too far away lost their lives in accidents on the job.
Jacob Lundrigan lost his life this past January when he fell from a telecommunications tower in Minden Hills. He was just 30-years-old. In March, an 18-year-old man died after falling into a grain elevator in Aylmer.
"We don't want to have to [hold the ceremony]," said McBridge. "We don't want to have to remember people. We want to celebrate them coming home from work, not never coming back."
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Canada lost 1,081 workers in workplace accidents in 2021. There were 277,217 claims for injuries and disease, marking an 8.5 per cent increase that year.
"We have the laws in place to protect workers. I think we need better enforcement of those laws and better communication between workers and employers," said McBridge.
Windsor community activist Jada Mallot hosts Friday's ceremony.