A large crowd of more than 100 people turned out to the permanent workers memorial at Shipyards Park during last Friday’s noon hour to honour those who have lost their lives or suffered injuries on the job. 

The National Day of Mourning ceremony, put on locally by the Yukon Federation of Labour, is one of many across the country to remember workers injured or killed on the job.

This year marked the first year the ceremony was held at the permanent memorial in the park. It was installed there late last year following years of planning.

An honour guard of firefighters and RCMP were part of the ceremony along with the music of bagpipes provided by pipe major Pat Ross. Elder Sophie Smarch provided a traditional welcome.

As federation president Justin Lemphers told the crowd, the day also marked the 25th anniversary of the Westray Mine disaster in Nova Scotia, an explosion which killed 26 coal miners.

Along with remembering the miners who lost their lives, Lemphers recognized the mine rescue workers and the miners’ families who continue to deal with the impact of the tragedy.

A focus of this year’s ceremony was on the mental health of workers.

Tyrone Larkin of the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs and Tiffanie Tasane, the executive director of the Mental Health Association of the Yukon, also addressed the crowd.

Larkin highlighted the stigma attached to mental health issues and stressed that the association of fire chiefs is working to address that.

“Many workers do not get the support they need,” he said, citing statistics that first responders are twice as likely to suffer post-traumatic stress injury due to their jobs.

Larkin praised the territory’s plan for presumptive legislation around PTSI for first responders, noting that will allow workers who need treatment to get it more immediately.

“This is a subject that’s very dear to me,” he said, noting he’s lost relatives to suicide due to PTSI.

Also emphasizing the importance of recognizing mental health, Tasane highlighted the “ripple” effect.

“When a stone is tossed into the water, the water ripples,” Tasane said.

“Work-related injuries and fatalities are like that stone with the ripples affecting friends, families, neighbours, and colleagues. In Canada, there’s an average of two workers each day who die from work related injuries and disease.

“Just like watching the beginning of a rain shower on a calm lake, over the course of a year, that’s a lot of ripples and a great impact that’s left behind.”

Tasane noted “it’s impossible to turn mental health issues off during work hours.”

A moment of silence was held to recognize the three worker deaths and 1,650 incidents that were reported in 2016, with three black candles lit to honour those who died.

Following the moment of silence, pledges were made to make work places safer on behalf of the Yukon government, municipalities, workers, employers and those in health care.

Before the procession to the workers’ memorial, Juanita Wood, a former heavy equipment operator, asked to address the crowd, highlighting her case to the crowd.

She said she was fired for bringing up safety concerns and did not get help in fighting the firing. She also lost her case in court and is now appealing the decision.

“We should not have to go to court,” she told the crowd. “Yukon workers need protection.”

Following her comments, the procession moved to the workers’ memorial, with the crowd lining up to lay flowers in memory of those who have passed.