Mr. Mahoney, the chairman of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), spoke at Spirit 2008, a conference put on by the Industrial Accident Prevention Association at the Deer Creek Golf and Conference Centre on Thursday.

Speaking to about 300 people, Mr. Mahoney said societal attitudes about drinking and driving and smoking have changed in the past 20 years.

"Somehow, we have to change attitudes. We have to rise up and say we'll no longer tolerate fatalities in the workplace. We'll no longer tolerate injuries in the workplace," Mr. Mahoney said.

About 100 people are killed in workplace accidents in Ontario every year, and about 10 are youths working summer jobs. Another 300,000 are injured on the job each year.

"Is it OK if we only have 50 (deaths) a year and only hurt 200,000," he asked. "Not to me. It shouldn't be to anyone."

Mr. Mahoney spoke about how safety at home has changed to the point a child can't ride a bicycle without wearing a helmet and children are also secured during a car trip. "My five grandchildren are strapped in as if they're going off to war."

When his three sons were young, "we threw them in the back seat with the dog."

Attitudes about drinking and driving have changed to such a point that anyone charged with the offence is treated as a "pariah" in the community, he said.

Many people are aware of the WSIB commercial of the chef who slips on grease and has a pot of boiling water hit her face.

"People are so shocked at this (commercial). The reason we have to do this is we just aren't making enough headway," Mr. Mahoney said.

As of Wednesday, there had been 61 deaths in Ontario workplaces in 2008. "Here we are celebrating 61 and six are kids. I lay awake at night thinking about this carnage."

Creating a habit of checking safety equipment and machinery the first thing in the morning is necessary, he said.

Mr. Mahoney noted that each time a Canadian soldier is killed in Afghanistan, parents of the deceased often say they are proud of their child.

"How do you say that when your 18-year-old son was on the 14th floor of a 14-floor building and a gust of wind blew him off because his harness wasn't connected," Mr. Mahoney said.

The WSIB has started a campaign called Road to Zero, with the aim of working towards no injuries or deaths in the workplace.