Friends and family of a murdered gas station clerk have signed a legislative petition calling for more safety standards for overnight workers.
The petition urges the Saskatchewan government to better protect late-night retail workers by passing what is being called Jimmy's Law, a private member's bill that would amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It would require employers to schedule at least two workers on late-night shifts or ensure that a worker was behind locked doors or a barrier when alone.
The law is named for Jimmy Wiebe, who was shot and killed during a robbery at a gas station in Yorkton, Sask., last June.
Wiebe's best friend, Aaron Nagy, urged people to look at the situation from their own perspective.
"It could be your son or daughter that's working overnight, your mother or father, and do you want to subject them to those conditions?" Nagy said Thursday.
Nagy started a petition on his own last year, but the legislative petition is different in that it will be read in the assembly this spring by Opposition NDP labour critic David Forbes.
Forbes introduced the bill last December and would like to see it pass before the session ends in May. He admits it's rare for a private member's bill to pass.
Labour Minister Don Morgan said Occupational Health and Safety is looking at ways to make job sites safer. That could include new regulations for panic buttons, better lighting, barriers and security cameras.
He noted British Columbia looked at having two workers present at all times, but backed away from the idea.
"B.C. has taken the position that it's too expensive (and) doesn't necessarily produce a safer or more secure job site," said Morgan.
The minister said Jimmy's Law would "certainly not" get government support in its present form.
"The idea that's being raised and the issue that's being raised is something that we would want to take forward to try and do something for workers that are working alone late at night," said Morgan, who is also justice minister and attorney general.
"I think we would like to be able to say to the people from Yorkton that this worker did not die in vain."
Forbes said it would be disappointing if video cameras were an option in any new law.
"I don't see that as safety. I see that as an important element in a store. I wouldn't argue that because it does help with convictions, but it doesn't help an awful lot with safety."
Wiebe's murder was captured on video cameras -- something that helped police find his killer.
Kyle Braeden Furness pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison last December.
Nagy and Forbes plan to visit late-night workers across the province to see how many are working alone and to talk to them about how secure they feel. The pair started Wednesday night with six businesses in Yorkton.
"They do care very deeply," Forbes said of the workers.
"Many of them felt safe, but it was a topic that they and their employer had talked about it. They know that they're working in a vulnerable situation, that it's different than working a day shift."
The tour ended at the gas station where Wiebe was shot. It was an emotional experience for Nagy.
"It was kind of tough knowing that your friend took his last breath at that place. You just have images go through your head," he said.
"But I knew I had to be strong and go through with it because ... what we're doing it for is a greater cause."
The gas station changed ownership not long after Wiebe's death. Nagy said there are more precautions in place now, including a pay-at-the-pump system for gas. The door is also locked, giving a cashier discretion for buzzing people in, and there's an emergency button to notify police.
"It's nice to see that they have those safety precautions in place. It's great to know that if something were to happen, the person that was there would be looked after," said Nagy.
"But then you also wonder, why couldn't they do it before ... and maybe we wouldn't be here talking about Jimmy's death."
