Day of Mourning Honours Workers Lost On The Job

Apr 28, 2024 - one year ago

April 28 is an internationally recognized day of mourning to honour workers who have been injured or who have lost their lives on the job.

Day of Mourning April 28

The national Day of Mourning is observed in Canada on April 28. The day honours the memory of workers who have been killed, injured, or suffered illness as a result of workrelated incidents.

The Canadian Labour Congress first recognized the Day of Mourning in 1984. In 1991, this day became a national observance with the passing of the Workers Mourning Day Act, and on April 28, 1991, the federal government officially proclaimed the national Day of Mourning.

Canada was the first nation to recognize the Day of Mourning and since 1984, acknowledgement of the day has spread to many countries and is now observed throughout the world.

Typically, the Canadian flag on Parliament Hill is flown at half-mast, and workers and employees observe the day in various ways including wearing ribbons, lighting candles, and observing moments of silence.

In British Columbia, there were 175 work-related deaths in 2023. Of those:

3 were young workers (ages 15–24)
93 were the result of occupational disease, with 48 as a result of asbestos exposure
Gender breakdown for work-related deaths is 163 males and 12 females
There were a total of 110,877 short-term disability, long-term disability, and health care only claims.
Workplace injury and illness resulted in about 4 million lost days of work.
More than 2,700 claims were reported each week and more than 150 long-term disability claims received a first payment each week.
Almost 4 work-related death claims were accepted each week.

The industry with the highest number of work-related deaths in B.C. was General Construction (34), followed by Metal and Non-Metallic Mineral Products (22), Public Administration (22), and Transportation and related services (20). Source: 2024 Day of Mourning Fact Sheet

Since 1997, the BC Federation of Labour, the Business Council of British Columbia, and WorkSafeBC have co-hosted a public commemorative ceremony for the Day of Mourning in Vancouver, B.C.

In 2001, WorkSafeBC, the BC Federation of Labour, and the Business Council of British Columbia dedicated a permanent workers' memorial in the Sanctuary in Hastings Park, Vancouver.

There are approximately 45 permanent worker memorial sites sponsored by WorkSafeBC in British Columbia.

The 2023 Day of Mourning ceremony will take place at Jack Poole Plaza in downtown Vancouver at 10:30 am on Friday, April 28th, 2023. The event will also be streamed at dayofmourning.bc.ca.

Source: DayOfMourning.bc.ca