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(Parkland Regional Safety Committee on Facebook)
At Bower Ponds Stage

National Day of Mourning Ceremony in Red Deer April 28

Apr 27, 2022 | 2:15 PM

Red Deer’s Bower Ponds will be the site of a ceremony Thursday to remember those who were injured, disabled, or have lost their lives to work-related incidents or occupational diseases.

April 28 is the National Day of Mourning in Canada, and the Parkland Regional Safety Committee, part of the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA), will be hosting a Day of Mourning Ceremony at Bower Ponds Stage starting at 11:00 a.m.

Every year, workers, families, employers, safety associations and others, come together at similar ceremonies held around the province.

This year, local organizers say the ceremony will also include the Grand Opening of the Fallen Worker Legacy Park, located next to the Fallen Worker Tribute (across the path from the stage).

Officials say they will be planting fruit trees in the new park, in remembrance of workers killed on the job. The initiative is anticipated to become an annual tradition as part of the local Day of Mourning ceremony.

The fruit trees are hoped to be a visual reminder of workers killed on the job, and also create a food forest.

According to Parkland Regional Safety Committee, Alberta Workplace Fatality Statistics indicate 178 fatalities last year, 150 in 2020, 165 in 2019, 162 in 2018, 166 in 2017, and 144 in 2016.

April 28 officially became a National Day of Mourning in 1990.