Every year on April 28th we pay our respects to, and remember, the thousands of workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness as a result of work-related incidents.

Last evening at a regular Council meeting for the City of Owen Sound, Mayor Ian Boddy declared:

WHEREAS: Every year, more than 1,000 Canadian workers are killed on the job.

AND WHEREAS: Thousands more are permanently disabled.

AND WHEREAS: Hundreds of thousands are injured.

AND WHEREAS: Thousands of others die from cancer, lung disease, and other ailments caused by exposure to toxic substances at their workplaces.

AND WHEREAS: April 28th of each year has been chosen by the Canadian Labour Congress as:

A day of Mourning for these victims of workplace accidents and disease;

A day to remember the supreme sacrifice they have been forced to make in order to earn a living;

A day to renew approaches to governments for tougher occupational health and safety standards, and more effective compensation;

A day to rededicate ourselves to the goal of making Canada’s workplaces safer.

I, Mayor Ian Boddy, of Owen Sound, do hereby proclaim April 28th as an annual Day of Mourning in recognition of workers killed, injured or disabled on the job.

In recognition of the National Day of Mourning, we will be raising the Canadian Labour Congress flag at 10:30 a.m. on our community flagpole at City Hall.

source: media release, City of Owen Sound