Today is Canada’s National Day of Mourning, commemorating workers killed on the job. The first ceremony took place in 1984, making Canada the first country to formally celebrate those killed in the workplace.
In Prince George, the commemoration took place at the Worker’s Memorial and, while the dead were remembered, it was the living who carried those memories and looked toward a safer future.
One of the event’s speakers was Mel Camilli. For him, this day is deeply personal.
Mel is one of the lucky ones. As a young man, he lost his legs to a workplace accident. But he survived and now works for WorkSafe BC, promoting safety to young workers and high school students preparing to enter the workplace.
He says April 28 commemorations are always powerful for him.
“They always hit home. Being myself injured on the job and that we’re here talking about people that have died and been injured on the job….this is always a really emotional time for me, doing this.”
Mel says he’s encouraged by the people who attend National Day of Mourning Events.
“For this ceremony, it’s nice to have these hundred people come out and dedicate themselves to being safer on the job or creating safer workplaces. That’s what it’s all about so that families like mine and like me, don’t have to go through this again.”
One hundred and twenty two workers lost their lives on the job in BC last year. 72 of those deaths were caused by work-related diseases and 50 were the result of traumatic accidents, like Mel’s. He says it’s important continue working to reduce those numbers.
“I know we’ll never get down to a zero workplace accident rate. That’s not really feasible because there’s always going to be accidents,” he says. “But if we can get people to dedicate themselves to safer workplaces then we’re going to bring that number down and that’s the important thing.”
Mel has a message for anyone who knows someone affected by workplace accidents:
“For every person that’s killed on the job in BC, there’s a lot of survivors behind them – moms, dads, brothers, sisters, cousins – it affects the whole family. It affects everybody. So if you know a survivor, be there for them and give them the love and the compassion they need to get on with their lives.”
Mel was joined Renee Ozee, who lost her son in a workplace accidents in 2009. Together, the two shared their stories of loss and survival and having the courage to move forward.
The remembrances will continue on Sunday with the Steps for Life Walk at Masich Stadium
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