Nova Scotia is recognizing the National Day of Mourning, honouring the lives of workers that were lost while on the job.

The province held a ceremony outside of the Province House to mark the occasion. Members from all political parties, union representatives, and families who have lost a love one to a workplace tragedy were all in attendance.

Claudia Chender, leader of the Nova Scotia NDP, said the the Day of Mourning has always held significance for her party. She said they pride themselves on representing workers.

She spoke about some of the ways here party is working to improve workplace safety.

”Right now one of the things we’ve really been looking at is paid sick leave, we’re we’re long past the time, especially coming out of a pandemic, when we know that workers need paid sick leave to take care of their health,” said Chender.

She called on the province to enforce the legislation already in place to protect workers.

“There’s the law, and then there’s what actually happens on work sites, and the workplaces across the province. Those aren’t always the same thing,” said Chender.

Zach Churchill, leader for the Nova Scotia Liberals, said during the ceremony the province has to do better on all fronts to foster safe workplace environments. He also stressed the importance of supporting families who have lost someone to a workplace accident.

”We have to develop better systems of support to make sure that loved ones aren’t falling behind as a result of these terrible tragedies,” said Churchill.

This year, 24 Nova Scotians died while on the job.