The flags at Lloydminster City Hall were brought to half-mast to honour National Day of Mourning.
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April 28 is a day where communities across Canada remember and honour those who were injured or lost their lives on the job.
Mackenzie Nichol, Lakeland Regional Safety Committee, co-chair, explained young workers are at a high risk of being injured on the job.
“If you look at the stats, it’s new and young workers that are probably the ones that are most at risk of getting injured on a worksite,” she said.
When it comes to preventing injuries, she said it’s about early promotion.
“It’s getting that promotion out there at a young age,” she said.
Anyone on the job could be at risk of getting injured, even if it’s just from a small slip and fall.
“There’s things that can happen, even just from a light slip and trip. You can slip and bang your head on something and then you have a workplace injury,” said Nichol.
“It can happen at any job site, anywhere, anytime. It’s bringing that awareness and we need to remember those that have been injured or had an illness in the workplace because they’re not forgotten.”
Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers emphasized the city’s commitment to maintaining a safe environment for all municipal employees.
“The training that goes into it, the safety meetings each and every morning, looking at job task analysis,” he said.
He said the impact of workplace injuries or fatalities can be vast.
“We still see people that have been killed at work and others injured and the implications are so broad,” said Aalbers. “When somebody doesn’t come home, that could be the breadwinner in the family if it’s a single income family. So, what’s that family going to do?”
For workers potentially facing unsafe work, Nichol said they have the right to speak up.
“They have the right to refuse unsafe work; they have the right to speak up and talk to their employers,” she said.
Tragedy struck many families across the region in 2025, with Alberta reporting 144 work-related fatalities due to illness or injury, and Saskatchewan recording 27 workplace deaths.
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