The head of Hamilton and District Labour Council (HDLC) says it’s unfortunate the city is marking the National Day of Mourning just days after news of two workplace accidents that saw one person die and another suffer “moderate” injuries.
“These deaths are happening on a continual, day-to-day basis, not just in Hamilton … (but) around the world,” HDLC president Anthony Marco told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“I mean, we call it a national day of mourning, but it’s celebrated by over 100 different countries now.”
Marco’s examples include the death of a 36-year-old man hit by a forklift at Janco Steel on Tuesday and a hospital trip for a 37-year-old Ancaster construction worker from a site on Golf Links Road on Wednesday morning.
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Both incidents are the subject of current Ministry of Labour investigations, according to a ministry spokesperson.
National Day of Mourning is observed in multiple ways across Canada, including flags being lowered to half-mast on government buildings and a moment of silence at 11 a.m.
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The initiative targets governments and workplaces to commit to protecting workers and avoiding workplace tragedies.
The last published report on injuries from the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) in 2019 recorded 925 workplace injuries across Canada with over 270,000 claims submitted for lost time due to a work-related injury or disease.
Hamilton will commemorate the day by illuminating the city hall sign yellow and laying wreaths in a 5 p.m. ceremony at a monument located at Main Street West and Bay Street South.
“We have seen the importance these last few years of protecting workers during our response to COVID-19,” Mayor Fred Eisenberger said during a recent council meeting.
“We have learned that preventing injury and illness requires collective commitment, collaboration and expertise to ensure the health and safety and well-being of our employees.”
Marco said he hopes the movement will spur more media coverage tied to worker injuries, which is typically rare due to the limited information about the incidents that is released by authorities connected with incidents.
He said he believes sharing the plight of victims and the nature of their workplace events can go a long way in bringing accountability to an employer via police and ministry of labour investigations.
“In most cases, I mean, I’m never going to personally know the person who was injured or died,” Marco said.
“But then I think about the impact that it has, not just on the family, the coworkers. This person is part of the Hamilton community.”
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