Calendar

Apr
23
Wed
Administrative Professionals Day
Apr 23 all-day
Apr
26
Sat
General Membership Meeting @ Thousand Islands Secondary School
Apr 26 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Apr
28
Mon
Day of Mourning
Apr 28 all-day

Marked annually in Canada on April 28, the National Day of Mourning is dedicated to remembering those who have lost their lives, suffered injury or illness on the job, or experienced a work-related tragedy.

Observance

The National Day of Mourning is a day to remember and honour those lives lost or injured due to a workplace tragedy. It’s also a day to collectively renew our commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace and to preventing further injuries, illnesses and deaths.

How to support

Traditionally on April 28, the Canadian flag flies at half-mast on Parliament Hill and on all federal government buildings. Employers and workers observe Day of Mourning in a variety of ways. Some light candles, lay wreaths, wear commemorative pins, ribbons or black armbands, and pause for a moment of silence.We encourage organizations, employees, communities, and individuals to hold or support an event, or to simply observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m. on April 28. Consider sharing or playing our moment of silence video in your workplace to honour those who have died or suffered injury or illness due to a work-related tragedy.

Employers and individuals can also show their support and commitment to a safe workplace by promoting the social media cards and messages provided on this page. By sharing these messages, you remind more people to put health and safety at the forefront of their work and help to prevent further work-related injuries and loss of life.

History

In 1991, eight years after the day of remembrance was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress, the Parliament of Canada passed the Workers Mourning Day Act making April 28 an official Day of Mourning. Today the Day of Mourning has since spread to more than 100 countries around the world and is recognized as Workers’ Memorial Day, and as International Workers’ Memorial Day by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

It is the hope of CCOHS that the annual observance of this day will help strengthen the resolve to establish safe and healthy conditions in the workplace, and prevent further injuries, illnesses, and deaths. As much as this is a day to remember those who have lost their lives, it is also a call to protect the living and make work a place where people are safe and can thrive.

Source: Fatalities, by Age and Jurisdiction 2022, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC),National Work Injury/Disease Statistics Program (NWISP)

Source: Lost Time Claims, by Age and Jurisdiction, 2022, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC),National Work Injury/Disease Statistics Program (NWISP)

For further statistical information visit the AWCBC National Work Injuries Statistics Program.

Watch the video

Commemorate Day of Mourning by watching and sharing this video.
May
1
Thu
School Principals’ & Vice-Principals’ Day
May 1 all-day
May
3
Sat
Education & Professional Support Staff Appreciation Day
May 3 all-day
May
5
Mon
Red Dress Day
May 5 all-day

To learn more about CUPE Ontario’s Indigenous Council, please visit

cupe.on.ca/committees/indigenous-council/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  Human Rights Museum, Winnipeg Manitoba –  taken during CUPE National Sector Conference Oct 2024.

 

On May 5, Red Dress Day, and every day, CUPE honours missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S).  Red dresses are hung to symbolize the lives lost.

At CUPE’s National Convention in October 2023, CUPE adopted Strategic Directions for 2023-2025 containing a set of commitments toward truth and reconciliation which build upon years of CUPE’s support to organizing efforts by members. Our union’s Strategic Directions advocate for the creation of a Red Dress Alert System, that would urgently notify the public when an Indigenous woman, girl or Two-Spirit person goes missing, similar to the current National Amber Alert System for children.

NDP MP Leah Gazan has championed the creation of a Red Dress Alert System in the House of Commons with co-lead, Liberal MP Pam Damoff. Work began in earnest on this project in December 2023. The House of Commons’ Standing Committee on the Status of Women launched a study looking into the proposal for a Red Dress Alert in March 2024 and the Federal Budget 2024 has committed to providing $1.3 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, toward co-developing a regional Red Dress System with Indigenous partners.

It is important to note that the recommendations of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls were released back in 2019. The Final Report of the Inquiry advocated for a national hotline to report MMIWG2S ­ essentially a National Red Dress Alert System,­ and this is the first tangible funding commitment from the government toward that in 5 years.

Today, we also recognize the organizing efforts of Indigenous activists and CUPE members across the country toward the search of the Prairie Green Landfill in Winnipeg. The remains of an Indigenous woman, Rebecca Contois, were found in the Brady Landfill in June 2022, followed by a call to search both the Brady Landfill and the Prairie Green Landfill for further victims of a serial killer. The remains of two women, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, are believed to be in the Prairie Green Landfill, and the remains of a fourth unidentified woman, who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, are also still missing. Initially, the Manitoba government refused to search the Prairie Green Landfill, and families and many Indigenous people in Winnipeg and across the country began to organize to raise awareness.

In July 2023, CUPE 500, representing municipal staff at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility, sent a letter of support and a joint statement including the landfill and 4R Winnipeg Depot in Winnipeg. The letter provided support to the organizers and families who were calling for the search. Following ongoing substantial organizing efforts throughout 2022 and 2023, the federal government announced a commitment of $20 million in 2024-25 toward efforts to search the landfill, in partnership with the Manitoba government, Indigenous partners, and impacted families. This builds on the $1.2 million provided by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to support feasibility and planning assessments.

CUPE will continue to track progress toward not only the search of landfills across the country and a National Red Dress Alert System, but to the implementation of all 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We won’t stop organizing until all of us are safe.

May
16
Fri
World Education Support Personnel Day
May 16 all-day
May
18
Sun
Speech language pathologist day
May 18 all-day
May
19
Mon
Victoria Day
May 19 all-day