Mr. Speaker, next Thursday, April 28, Canadians will be marking the National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job and those who have become ill because of their workplace.
The National Day of Mourning is not only a time of reflection and remembrance; it also is a day to rededicate ourselves to the goal of keeping workers safe at their jobs.
Canadian workers die at a rate of 1,000 per year because workplace safety is sacrificed to serve the interests of the bottom line. Often workers are killed because they have been pressured into doing unsafe work. This has to stop.
Workers in Canada are actively campaigning to have the Westray law, which was passed unanimously by the House over a decade ago, properly enforced so that corporations that kill and injure workers are held criminally accountable.
An injury to one is an injury to all. Let us protect workers and enforce the law.