No. 9 - Workplace deaths in Quebec due to COVID-19

In 2020, the province’s workplace health and safety board the CNESST paid out eight death claims to families of individuals who died from COVID-19 that they caught on the job. The number for 2021 won’t be released until this year’s Day of Mourning, on April 28.

The deaths occurred in two industries: health and social services and business services/building maintenance and other support services.

Quebec was hit very hard by the first wave in Canada. COVID-19’s first health worker victim was Huy Hao Dao, a doctor in the Montérégie. But to be eligible for the CNESST death benefit, a worker needed to catch COVID-19 on the job, and be a salaried worker. It’s unlikely that Dr. Dao’s death was included here.

But I’ve tracked 10 other health worker COVID-19 deaths from 2020 they likely caught on the job: Victoria Salvan, Stéphanie Tessier, Marina Thenor Louis, Sam Laguerre, Laurence Ménard, Marcelin François, Sylvain Roy, Marie-Caona Lamitié, Thong Nguyen. They mostly worked in CHSLDs. Who among them are excluded from this list? Marcelin François was an undocumented worker who was placed into CHSLDs by a placement agency. Did his family get death benefits?

And then what about deaths that occurred in other industries? The two airport taxi drivers who died in Montreal, the STM worker, the Olymel employee, the daycare chef, the worker in a Montreal North meat packing facility? Where are they?

While we don’t know very much about Ontario’s 107 workers who had death benefits paid out after their deaths, we at least know this number was 107. I’m very surprised that the figure from the CNESST is as low as it is and I’ll be watching closely on April 28 for 2021’s numbers.