Courageous 2017: Stand Up to Unsafe Work

3 Canadians will be killed in a workplace accident today. By the time you finish reading this, even more will be seriously injured on the job.

Although workplace fatalities in Canada are lower than they have been since 1999, preventable workplace incidents continue to happen every day – and even one is too many. On April 28th we observe the National Day of Mourning – a day to remember and honor workers who have been injured or killed on the job.

This year, our friends at MySafeWork are doing something different to commemorate the Day of Mourning – holding Courageous, the first ever Canada-wide live-stream event to champion workplace safety. The goal of Courageous is to share a simple message with every student across the country: don’t accept unsafe work.

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— MySafeWork (@mysafework) April 21, 2017

The sad truth is that it’s our students and young workers who are most at risk. In fact, new and young workers are three times more likely to be injured during their first month on the job than at any other time. This is often because young workers:

– Are unaware they have the right to refuse unsafe work
– Are not given proper training before starting work
– Are not shown how to identify workplace hazards

What You Can Do On The Day of Mourning

The Day of Mourning is also an opportunity to renew your commitment to workplace safety and review your existing policies, procedures and safety management systems. As EHS professionals, we owe it to our employees to ensure we are continuously improving safety performance, reducing risk and preventing future incidents from occurring.

Join The Courageous Movement

Visit youtube.com/mysafework at 9:00 AM EST on April 28^th to watch the 1-hour live-stream presentation. Courageous will be hosted by HGTV’s Bryan Baeumler and will include:

Round Table Discussion – Industry leaders Kimberly Boyle, Senior Vice President People and Safety at Alectra Utilities, Dawn Tattle, President at Anchor Shoring, Jessica DiSabatino, Vice President at MySafeWork and Josh LeBrun, President and COO at eCompliance will offer practical advice to help new and young workers stay safe.

Message from Justin Trudeau – Canada’s Prime Minister will share a special message about the importance of workplace safety and why you shouldn’t work for a company that doesn’t respect you.

Interactive Q&A – Students are encouraged to ask questions and health and safety professionals can share best practices using the hashtag #IAmCourageous2017.

Summing Up

Three Canadians will be killed in a workplace accident today. We don’t want you or anyone at your workplace to be one of them. Have the courage to speak up and ask your employer how they’re managing safety.