Date:          April 28, 2014

Re:             Day of Mourning

Today is the international day of mourning for workers who have been killed or injured at work and as such ceremonies will be held throughout the City of Winnipeg.

A ceremony will be held today in honour of all city workers who have died serving the city of Winnipeg throughout its history.

We stand proudly with all city workers but today sadly, one name will be added to that list, Firefighter Brian Brusegard.  We pay tribute to Brian today and also to the dozens of Winnipeg Firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of Winnipeg.

A tragic fact is that Firefighters’ names have been added to this somber list every year since 2003.

I cannot talk about every Firefighter but we will remember our four brothers who died together in the great Winnipeg Theater fire of 1926; we will remember Brother Rick Stoyko who was the first Firefighter in Canada to be covered under Presumptive Cancer legislation that he helped us to lobby for. We also remember the last multiple LODD that Winnipeg had just a few short years ago when we lost Harold and Tom.  Many members of our department still feel daily the physical and mental scars of that day. That is what this day means to Firefighters.