Governments lack the political will to enforce laws that protect workers, federal NDP leader says

Canada has laws to protect workers from harm at work but political will is lacking to enforce those laws, the leader of federal NDP said in downtown Toronto on Friday.

Jagmeet Singh, speaking on the National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, said workers have a fundamental right to go to work and come home safely and should never be worried about losing their lives at work. 

"There are laws in place but there is no enforcement," Singh said at an event in Larry Sefton Park held to mark the day.

"Never again should a worker be afraid to go to work and not be sure if they are going to come back home to their loved ones. We need to make that happen," he said.

Singh said workers need to use their power to force employers to follow existing labour laws with the "teeth" to protect workers. He did not specify which laws.

Federal and provincial governments have the power to make work safety a priority and to ensure there are "severe repercussions" if laws are not followed, he added. 

At the federal level, Singh said the NDP is working to strengthen existing laws. 

For example, the NDP is pushing for the Criminal Code to be amended to strengthen penalties for assault of all transit workers, not only transit operators, given a string of violence on transit systems across the country in recent months.

As well, the NDP is pushing the Liberal government to bring in anti-scab legislation that would prevent employers from hiring replacement workers during a strike or lockout and that would become law by the end of this year.

Enforcement of labour laws happens at both the federal and provincial levels, depending on whether a workplace is provincially or federally regulated. In Ontario, the Ministry of Labour investigates workplace incident or illness, including those that result in death, injury or occupational illness. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for his part, said in a statement on Friday that the federal government is making worker safety a top priority.

"Established more than 30 years ago, this day invites us to reaffirm our commitment to creating safer and healthier workplaces for everyone," Trudeau said.

"The Government of Canada has stepped up to improve workplace safety standards and practices, including by modernizing our compliance and enforcement regime under the Canada Labour Code, which protects federally regulated workers," he said.

"These changes are helping to ensure there are strong consequences for employers who violate workplace safety standards and put hardworking Canadians in harm's way."