Mr. Speaker, many of us take it for granted that when we leave for work in the morning, we will come home safely at the end of the day. Yesterday's National Day of Mourning is a reminder that too many of us do not.
When we commemorated the day in Winnipeg, we heard Cindy Skanderberg tell the story of her son, Michael. In 1999, Michael was a young man learning the electrical trade. He was killed when his company, which should have ensured his safety and supervision, sent him off alone to work live on 347V lighting. Cindy has honoured her son's memory by fighting for changes to make safety in the workplace a priority and to hold delinquent employers to account.
Better government and workplace policies make a difference. The political advocacy and bargaining work of the labour movement over many decades has been an important part of making work more safe and ensuring that more people get home at the end of the work day. As we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, and as many governments across Canada continue to challenge the collective bargaining rights of Canadian workers, the National Day of Mourning is an important reminder of the need to defend those rights.