National Day of Mourning a chance to remember and educate

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Fourteen New Brunswickers died in 2023 due to injuries or illnesses they suffered as a result of work-related incidents, a number that Tim Petersen says should be zero.

Petersen, president and CEO of WorkSafeNB, said it is because of those 14 individuals that officials, members of the public and representatives of his organization gathered Sunday at the Frank & Ella Hatheway Centre at Rockwood Park to recognize the National Day of Mourning, which commemorates workers who have died, been injured, or suffered illness as a result of work-related incidents.

“It really is every day we think of those people,” Petersen said. “This is our life at WorkSafe, unfortunately, we deal with people every day whose lives have been impacted and we do remember and recognize each day, but it’s also important to come together as a community to, of course, recognize the workers who have been fatally injured at work or severely injured at work, but it’s also about recognizing and supporting the families, friends, colleagues of those workers.”

Ceremonies such as this past Sunday’s offer more than just an opportunity to pay tribute and remember those who have been lost or injured, he said. It also shows that employers and employees have learned from past incidents and have taken steps to improve safety.

“I think the families that are impacted take comfort in knowing that, if nothing else comes from this, hopefully it will prevent another family from having to go through it,” Petersen said referencing things learned from each and every workplace incident. “The National Day of Mourning is an opportunity to both recognize and support.”

The day is also a chance to reflect and renew a commitment to workplace health and safety and increase awareness, he said. Increased awareness could mean the next time someone encounters a situation at their place of work they may not deem safe they’ll reconsider their actions, he said.

Mayor Donna Reardon said Sunday’s event included approximately 50 individuals registered to lay a wreath in memory of someone who has been killed due to a workplace incident.

“It was a beautiful day,” she said. “It’s all sad and, at the end of the day, we’re lucky we have the unions that, over the years, have improved the work spaces we work in and fought for labour laws. We need to keep moving in that direction. We don’t want any future workplace injuries.”

Discussing the 14 workers who died in 2023, Petersen stressed while that number is too high he takes some comfort in knowing New Brunswick has the lowest accident frequency in the country. That, he said, is a tribute to the employers and workers in the province.

“That’s a signal of hope for people,” Petersen said. “The fact we lost 14 people, that’s not acceptable and, as I said, won’t be until it’s zero, but the fact we have the lowest accident frequency encourages me about the future in terms of these severe injuries.”

– with files from Andrew Bates