Mr. Speaker, in 1991, this House adopted an NDP private member's bill proclaiming April 28 the National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, but for New Democrats, mourning is just one part of our annual recommitment. Yes, first we mourn the dead, but then we fight for the living.
There is no such thing as a workplace accident. Every workplace death and injury is preventable. That is why we have had Criminal Code amendments in effect since 2004 allowing for the criminal prosecution of employers for workplace injuries and fatalities. It should be straightforward: kill a worker, go to jail. Yet only two provinces have ever laid charges. It is time governments take the measures needed to ensure that police and crown attorneys treat the site of a workplace injury or fatality like a crime scene. It is a crime scene. Only by prosecuting to the full extent of the law will we ever achieve the deterrent effect that will lead to safer workplaces.
On this day of mourning, I call on all of us who participate in making laws to also do our part in ensuring that those laws are enforced.