Toronto — Rob Ellis has been telling his story for 16 years — a tragic cautionary tale to promote safer workplaces in Canada.
Ellis’ 18 year-old son, David, was killed in 1999 by a workplace accident. It was only his second day on the job.
“We lost our son and I don’t want any one of you here as my Canadian family here at EllisDon to ever have to go through this journey that I’m on,” he said, at the Jersey of Courage event at Yorkdale Mall on Thursday.
EllisDon and MySafeWork, a non-profit organization championing workplace safety, made Yorkdale the second stop on its Jersey of Courage tour to urge employers and employees to create safer workplaces.
“We can and must commit ourselves to a new, higher standard of safety – not only EllisDon employees, but every single person on our jobsites,” said Geoff Smith, EllisDon president and CEO, in a statement. “Safety is more important than making money, more important than making schedule, more important than client service, it is more important than absolutely anything.”
The charity event raised $1050 for Threads of Life, an organization that supports families who’ve been affected by a workplace tragedy.
To learn more about Ellis’ story visit MySafeWork.
Source: EllisDon
