Don’t look the other way when it comes to workplace safety. That’s the message coming from Grande Prairie Regional Safety Committee on the National Day of Mourning. Chair Leah-Ann Maybee believes all workplace illnesses, injuries and deaths are preventable.
“Making sure that when you see something, you speak up about it; you don’t just look the other way because luck runs out. Eventually, something someone has done 100 times, on the 101st everything lines up and you have devastating outcomes.”
A proclamation was made at City Hall Thursday morning, followed by a ceremony at Safety City at a memorial dedicated to seven people who have been killed on the job in the Grande Prairie area since 1978. One of those is Andy Hodgins, who died in an accident at a local mill in 2013. His wife Margaret Johansen says it’s almost ironic as he was committed to putting safety first on the job.
“It’s really important that we think about safety in every situation and just be mindful of what you’re doing. Also, because of my husband, I think of him standing up for other people as well when he saw a condition that wasn’t safe.”
125 lives were lost at work in Alberta last year.
