Mr. Speaker, this Sunday we will again observe the Day of Mourning for employees killed and injured at work. Last year 800,000 Canadians were injured at work while 882 died on the job.
When we pause again this April 28 we will remember the four Canadian soldiers killed last week in Afghanistan and the more than 200 Canadians killed September 11.
As someone who knows firsthand the agony of losing a family member through an industrial accident, we must do more than mourn. Sometimes these are just tragic accidents but some workplace accidents are indeed a crime. Next month is the sad anniversary of the 26 miners entombed at Westray. It is called the Westray disaster, but the other disaster is that 10 years on no one has ever been brought to justice for what the inquiry concluded was a preventable explosion.
No employer should have the right to knowingly put workers' lives at risk, and those who do must feel the full force of the law.