Tuesday, April 28 is the National Day of Mourning.
Officially observed since 1991, the National Day of Mourning commemorates
workers who have been injured, killed or suffer illness as a result of
occupational accidents and hazards. The flag at parliament hill is lowered
to half-mast for this day.
Jeff Erb, Bantrel's Health, Safety and Environment Manager, understands
the importance of this day.
"Bantrel is proud of our safety performance to date. This has taken a lot of
hard work by our entire Bantrel team. However, incidents still occur all
over Canada every day, and it is important for us to remember those injured
or killed in the workplace. Thinking about these individuals ensures that
the tragic consequences of unsafe work environments are never far from our
minds and allows us to prevent incidents before they happen."
Nearly 1,100 Canadians died in 2007 as a result of work-related causes.
This means that on average, about three workers were killed every day.
Approximately 972,407 work-related injuries and illnesses were reported in
2007.