The Canadian occupational safety and health awareness campaign is led by the Labour Program of Human Resources Development Canada in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering. Every year during this week the United States, Canada and Mexico join forces in raising awareness of accident prevention in the workplace. In the regional offices of HRDC, various activities are planned, not only within the Department but also with businesses, unions and provincial and territorial governments. In 1998 alone, close to 800 Canadians died as a result of work-related accidents or illnesses and approximately 800,000 were injured. This means, on average, three workers are killed every working day and one is injured every 9 seconds.
Youth are most at risk.
The rate of accidents is highest for them due to inexperience and lack of awareness of safety procedures. In fact, close to 30 per cent of all accident victims compensated for time lost are young Canadians aged 15 to 29. Education and awareness have remained key priorities in preventing workplace hazards. This will strengthen accountability, workplace inspections, and effectiveness in dealing with complaints. These changes will benefit both employers and employees, and will contribute to safer and healthier workplaces.