Recent swing-stage tragedy adds urgency to Day of Mourning

Day of Mourning ceremonies this year carry a more sombre tone because of the Toronto swing-stage accident late last year and the recent 50th anniversary of the Hogg’s Hollow tragedy, industry officials say.

Workplace safety

“While this day has been commemorated every year since 1984, recent events have increased the urgency for us at the WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) to make sure that everyone recognizes the importance of April 28,” said Steve Mahoney, chairman of the WSIB.

Mahoney was joined by Peter Fonseca, Ontario Minister of Labour and representatives from labour groups such as Labourers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 183 and the Central Ontario Building Trades (COBT), near the Injured Workers’ Monument on Front Street in Toronto.

Officials noted that the Day of Mourning is not just about remembering worker lives lost but also about workers dealing with occupational injuries and illness.

There were 73 workplace deaths in Ontario last year, 16 of them in construction and an additional 261 occupational disease-related deaths.

“The reality is, these deaths are preventable these injuries are preventable,” said Fonseca.

James St. John, Business Manager of the COBT, stressed that the Day of Mourning plays an important role in reminding people that they “cannot lose sight” of the fact that workers are exposed to health hazards every day. Some of these dangers, such as mesothelioma from asbestos exposure, do not manifest themselves until decades later, because of a minimum 15-year latency period, he said.

In 2008, there were 19 construction-related deaths compared with 15 in 2007 and 27 in 2006. The Christmas Eve swing-stage tragedy in Toronto that claimed four lives was not far from mind at the ceremony. The four workers plunged 13 storeys to their deaths at a Kipling Avenue apartment restoration work site when a swing stage they were working on came apart. A fifth survived the fall, but sustained serious injuries.

“It is important to remember where we come from and the road we are on when it comes to safety in Ontario,” said Michael O’Brien of LIUNA Local 183. “The loss of those lives on Christmas Eve and the sacrifice of the men at Hogg’s Hollow is unacceptable.”

The Hogg’s Hollow tragedy claimed the lives of five Italian immigrant workers on March 17, 1960, in an underground accident below the Don River, near Yonge Street and York Mills Road in Toronto. The five workers died from a combination of carbon monoxide poisoning and drowning in a watermain tunnel, after a fire broke out.

The tragedy sparked significant changes to health and safety in the province.