Leaders of the United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada say its campaign to stop workplace killing through better enforcement of existing laws has gained momentum now that it has been raised with federal, provincial and territorial justice ministers.

The union has been pressing for jurisdictions across Canada to make use of 2003 amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada dealing with workplace deaths. “Since it became clear that the amendments holding corporations, their directors and executives criminally accountable for workplace death and injury were not being enforced, the campaign to save lives became one of convincing provincial and territorial attorneys-general to get the job done,” said USW Canada national director Ken Neumann.

“That means they must direct police and Crown attorneys in their jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute workplace death and injury as they would any potential crime scene.” He added: “After more than a decade, and thousands of workplace deaths, only a handful of Criminal Code charges have been laid. And not a single boss has spent time in jail for their crimes. For families, fines are not enough, and justice has not been served.”

USW Western Canada director Steve Hunt said “we will continue to expose the injustice and cruelty that has prevented thousands of Canadian families from moving forward with their lives after a workplace death. The tears will not stop, but neither will our determination to see justice done and seen to be done.”