Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Labour Congress has declared today a national day of mourning for workers who have been killed or injured on the job.
The figures for workplace death and injury are frightening. Each work day four Canadians die as a result of accidents, unsafe conditions or exposure to harmful substances at work. Disabling injuries have increased 17 per cent over the past 20 years. One in four women each year is injured on the job compared with one in eighteen men. The cost of workplace death and injury amounts to $10.6 billion a year.
No one can place a value on life or the suffering of family and friends who have lost a loved one in a work related incident.
We should recognize today, April 28, as a day to pay our respect to Canadian workers who have been killed or injured on the job.