angus memorialWednesday, May 28th is the National Day of Mourning, a day that as a country we recognize those who are killed or injured in the workplace and the importance of safety in the workplace.

Meanwhile, the number of federal Health and Safety Specialists has been cut across Canada from 151 in 2005 to just 67 individuals as of April, 2015. We are concerned over the reduced number of federal Health and Safety Specialists in Canada, specifically the reduction of the number of officers for all of Northern Ontario to just two officers.

We believe it is irresponsible to reduce the number of specialists in North Ontario to just two. Two federal Health and Safety Specialists for all of Northern Ontario is not enough to cover the immense amount of territory and large number of workplaces.

It raises serious question about the government’s commitment to keep workplaces in the region safe. It would be a fitting tribute to those we honour every April 28th if you were to ensure that the number of Federal Health and Safety Specialists will increase to the point that we can assure timely inspections and the safety of every work place in our region and in our country.

We demand that you immediately address this situation and ensure that all regions of Canada are provided with enough specialists to perform this critical work in a timely manner, which is clearly not the case in Northern Ontario.

Signatories to the letter were: Charlie Angus, MP Timmins- James Bay, Carol Hughes, MP Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Michael Mantha, MPP Algoma-Manitoulin, John Vantoff, MPP Timiskaming – Cochrane, France France Gélinas, MPP Nickel Belt, Gilles Bisson, MPP  Timmins James Bay.

View the letter HERE.