April 28 is the National Day of Mourning in Canada. It is a day to honour and remember those who have lost their lives, suffered injury or illness on the job or experienced a work-related tragedy. It’s also a day to renew our commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace to prevent further tragedies.
Creating a work environment that is safe physically, psychologically and culturally is a collective responsibility — we all have a role to play. I take this role seriously, and I know you do, too. I want to thank the faculty and staff for their ongoing commitment to safety as we work together to strengthen the university's Culture of Care.
Employees have every right to expect they will safely return to their families at the end of their day. Unfortunately, tragedies do occur. According to the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC), in 2022, there were 993 workplace fatalities recorded in Canada. Sadly, the U of A is not immune from workplace tragedies. Last August, the U of A lost Dr. Maya Bhatia — a talented biogeochemist, arctic climate researcher and associate professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the Faculty of Science — who passed away while conducting fieldwork. As part of our continuous pursuit of safety, we recently launched a Mandatory Field Safety Research Training course for everyone who conducts field research. It is part of our larger suite of safety training and best practices, which are available on the Health, Safety and Environment web page.
To mark this sombre day, our university banner and the Canadian and Provincial flags will be lowered on April 28. Please take a moment to reflect on the importance of maintaining a safe working environment and to reaffirm your commitment to improving health and safety across the university.
Bill Flanagan
President and Vice-Chancellor