Mr. Speaker, April 28 marks the National Day of Mourning for those killed or injured due to workplace accidents or hazards. More than 1,000 Canadians die each year because of work-related injury or illness. That is almost four people every workday, four people who leave for work in the morning, kiss their spouse and children goodbye and never come home.
On May 9, 1992, 26 miners left for work at the Westray mine in Nova Scotia and never came home again because of lax safety protocols, poor oversight and mismanagement, which led to an explosion that took their lives and left an entire province in mourning.
The Westray disaster led directly to Bill C-45, which was brought forward by my former colleague, Andy Scott. It amended the Criminal Code in 2004 to impose criminal negligence liability on employers. There is still more that can be done to identify and predict hazardous work situations before the occur.
On behalf of our leader and the entire caucus, we pay our respects to all Canadians and their families who have lost their lives in the workplace. We honour those who are suffering in illness and injury.