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April 28th, 2019

NDP Statement on National Day of Mourning

Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s NDP, issued the following statement:

Today, some Canadians will leave for work and not return home. Many more will suffer injuries or be exposed to toxic chemicals in their place of work.

The lives of these workers and their families are forever changed by workplace accidents, injuries, violence, and death.

Today, on the National Day of Mourning, we pause to remember them and their families.

The Day of Mourning began in Canada in 1991. One year later, the Westray mine explosion killed 26 miners and, despite a public inquiry, the workers and their families never saw justice.

Westray became a catalyst for workers' rights in Canada and advocacy led to a change in legislation that finally allowed corporations to be prosecuted for negligence leading to workplace deaths.

Since then, and while almost 1,000 Canadian workers die on the job every year, only a few charges have been laid. And only one prison sentence has been handed down.

We have a responsibility to do more.

As millions of people make their way to work every day, they have a right to know they will be safe.

New Democrats are on their side. That’s why we have always fought to ensure workplace conditions are safe and that laws protecting workers from accidents, illness, and death are enforced.

Canada must be a leader for workplaces that are safe for all.