Today is International Women’s Day. Today, we remember that International Women’s Day was inspired by working women.

Today, we remember that, in 1908, 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York to protest unfair working conditions.

Today, we remember that, in 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 workers in 20 minutes. Today, we remember that most of the workers were Italian or Jewish immigrants aged 14 to 23. Today, we remember that these workers were trapped behind locked doors, trapped out of reach of firefighter ladders. Today, we remember these workers died from the fire, these workers die from smoke inhalation, and today we remember that 62 of these workers died by leaping from factory windows to the pavement below. These workers died because the doors were locked to prevent worker theft. These workers died because the doors were locked to prevent union organizers from entering. The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 garment workers in 20 minutes, and from those ashes International Women’s Day was reborn.

Speaker, we are legislators. If we want to truly celebrate International Women’s Day, let us honour the workers who died. Let’s write labour laws that make it easier to join a union. Let’s write labour laws that demand better working conditions, demand better wages and demand better safety.

We are legislators. Let’s truly celebrate International Women’s Day and make life better for Ontario’s workers.