Annual Day of Mourning honours those who died, got hurt or became ill because of their jobs
Ceremonies across the country today will remember the more than 900 Canadian workers who died.
According to the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada, 928 workers died due to work-related injuries and illness in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available. In Ontario alone, 365 workers lost their lives.
"This is unacceptable," Ontario Labour Minister Steve Peters said in a statement. "No job is worth a life."
In Toronto today, the flags at the provincial legislature are at half-mast as part of the 22nd annual Day of Mourning, which honours those who have died, been injured or gotten sick because of their jobs.
Across Canada there were 340,502 workers injured seriously enough to miss at least one day of work in 2004, and close to one million reports of work-related injuries and diseases.
A CBC investigative report, which used freedom-of-information laws to obtain details about workplace injuries, found that strain-related injuries to backs, elbows, shoulders, arms and knees account for more than half of all lost-time claims.
Many of the injuries come from repeated motions that involve either typing on a keyboard or lifting and grabbing objects.
Over the past five years in British Columbia, workplace injuries have resulted five million lost-work days, costing the economy up to $1 billion.
The CBC report found that stressful workplaces lead to medical problems such as high blood pressure and increased risk for heart disease. However, many provincial workers' compensation boards are reluctant to compensate employees who suffer health problems due to stress at work.
The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health cites stress as among the top 10 leading causes of death in the workplace. It estimates that the cost of stress-related injuries to the Canadian economy is $16 billion to $33 billion each year.
The CBC also found that health-care and social services workers are five to 12 times more likely than workers in other sectors, including police, to be victims of violence on the job.
