‘This day carries special weight’: National Day of Mourning focuses on workplace safety

Day of Mourning honoured people who died on the job in the Maritimes.

Ceremonies were held in Moncton, N.B., and Halifax Monday to honour workers who were injured or lost their lives due to workplace accidents or work-related illnesses.

The National Day of Mourning is held each year on April 28 as a reminder of the importance of workplace safety.

“Every workplace death is preventable. Today we come together to honour those who didn’t make it home from work and to recommit to making every workplace safer,” said Nolan Young, minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, in a news release from the Nova Scotia government. “We encourage all Nova Scotians to take this opportunity to remember, reflect and take action to prevent future fatalities.”

Twenty Nova Scotians died at work or because of their work last year, including seven acute traumatic injuries and 13 chronic injury fatalities, according to the government.

“Chronic injuries include cardiac issues, stroke, occupational diseases and other exposures,” reads the release.

In 2000, 21-year-old Jamie Lapierre died while working on a barge off Port Hawkesbury, N.S. This year’s National Day of Mourning ceremony highlights the 25th anniversary of his death.

“For families like mine, this day carries special weight. My brother Jamie was careful, caring, and always wore his heart on his sleeve. He was deeply connected to his friends, his family, his love of fishing and, of course, the game of baseball. He was 21-years-old when he died and his life was tragically cut short,” said Karen Lapierre-Pitts.

Lapierre-Pitts says she misses her brother every day.

“Today we mourn, but we also hope. We’re joined together today in hope for a future when workplaces are safer, where families are whole and where every worker goes home safe and healthy. We can all make a difference individually, but only together can we bring this from hope into real change,” she said.

The most recent statistics for New Brunswick show 3,658 people were injured on the job in 2023 and 19 people died, according to Moncton and District Labour Council vice president Bryan Harris.

“There’s a lot of dangerous jobs out there and some people don’t understand how dangerous some of these professions are. In my opinion, everyone deserves to come home safe and sound, just doing their job, trying to make a living,” said Harris.

Pauline Farrell understands the pain that comes with losing a loved one to a workplace accident.

Her husband Bill died 54 years ago, when she was 24.

“Bill was 27-years-old. He was a lineman for NB Power. He was killed in an explosion at the Universite de Moncton and, at the time, we were just married two years and I was 5.5 months pregnant,” recalls Farrell.

“It’s been a long journey. I have a beautiful daughter who’s very smart. She’s a lot like him, beautiful girl, and two grandsons and a beautiful son-in-law. So, I’m very blessed in many ways, but I miss Bill every day.”

Farrell says the National Day of Mourning is an important time to honour her husband, but remembering those who lost their lives in workplace accidents doesn’t just happen once a year.

“I have sciatica, that’s why I’m walking with a walker, but I wouldn’t have missed it, like I tried my best to get here this morning,” she said.

“It’s not a one day thing, it’s a lifetime. It takes a big part of your heart and you learn to live with it and you work around it and I have a very strong faith and I think that helps and wonderful parents that helped me through and friends. Linemen were always at the house and they were very good to me, to us.”

Harris is a dispatcher for Ambulance New Brunswick and says he has worked many workplace injuries and some deaths.

“It’s people and it’s not just a number. It’s not just a person, it’s a person who has a whole family that’s involved in that grieving process and remembers it like Pauline does for decades to come. It’s easy to put out numbers, but you have to remember every single number that I mentioned is a person with a family and a life that was affected by that,” he said.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Alana Pickrell.

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