Mourning for the dead and fighting for the living, about 200 people marched to City Hall yesterday in recognition of International Day of Mourning.
The Calgary and District Labour Council (CDLC) led the march that united city workers to remember those who have died in workplace accidents.
President of the CDLC Peg Askin spoke at the ceremony themed “Mourn for the dead, fight for the living — now more than ever.”
“As workplace deaths mount, we are here to remember those who are injured and killed on the job. With the escalated number of incidents the situation is becoming graver,” Askin said, adding Alberta has the most work related deaths in the country.
According to the CDLC, 154 Albertans died in work-related incidents last year. Alberta Occupational Health and Safety has reported 15 already this year.
Maryanne Pope lost her husband, police officer John Petropoulos, in 2000 and has since become the director of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund, a non-profit agency raising awareness about workplace safety.
“I think (yesterday) was not only to raise awareness about workplace accidents, but also to remember those killed at work,” she told Metro.
Just last week, a father of six died in a freak workplace accident when a shelving unit fell and crushed him at a warehouse in southeast Calgary.
