Federation Press Release in Reaction to City  Council’s Approval of the Day of Mourning Monument.

UPDATED November 15, 2005

The PEI Federation would like to express its deep appreciation for Charlottetown City Council’s decision  to approve the Day of Mourning monument’s placement on the Coles building location and thank all of the Councillors who voted in support of and spoke on behalf of the monument at their recent Council meeting.

“We are very glad that Council gave such strong approval because this is an important monument for all workers on PEI.” States Carl Pursey President of the PEI Federation of Labour “It is meant not only as a respectful memorial to all workers  who have lost their lives on Island worksites but also as a stark reminder to all Island workers and employers of how important workplace safety is.

The importance of this monument to the Island’s labour movement has been shown in many ways but especially in the labour movement’s generosity. The Federation had no problem meeting and exceeding our monetary goal with 32 union locals and labour organizations making donations and the Carpenter’s union donating not only money but also their labour and expertise to install the monument’s base.

“The federation has felt from the beginning that it was very important for the Island labour movement to embrace this monument and truly make this a workers monument supplied by workers. I am very proud of the generosity shown by PEI’s labour movement” states Pursey 

“I am also very happy that we finally can put this monument in a place that affords it the respect, visibility, and security it deserves and in addition to City Council I would like to thank the Province specifically Ron MacMillan and Parks Canada for securing that place.  ” States Pursey

We would also like to thank the Injured Workers Organizational Committee for their recent press release in support of the monument.

In conclusion, We would like to state that the federation from day one has tried very hard to make sure that the process of getting the monument installed was followed correctly and never wanted that process to overshadow the importance and respect that we feel for this monument and the people and families that it is meant to honour.

The Federation hopes to have the monument in place as soon as possible and we hope that all Islanders get a chance to visit the monument and take sometime to reflect on what it represents once it is installed.

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