“Every year, 6,200 young people are injured at work in Ontario, requiring them to take time off work. That's 17 people every single day,” said William Lin, senior communications officer for the Ontario Ministry of Labour. “Some lose a limb, others may become disfigured. But the worst-case scenario is that someone loses a life — and it could be a brother or sister, a son or daughter. Or it could be you.”

The Ontario Ministry of Labour is targeting teenagers and young adults, as the future of the workforce, to create videos about the importance of safety in the workplace and about rights to fair pay.

The contest is open to Canadian residents who are in secondary schools or those between 18 to 25 who are not in secondary school.

“This contest focuses on the fact that you have rights and responsibilities under the law that protect you at work, whether it's the right to refuse unsafe work or the right to be paid fairly,” said Lin.

“We know that the best way to reach a younger demographic is through their own peers,” said Lin. “And that's what this contest is all about: to use the tremendous talents of younger people to produce videos that conveys that message to others who need to hear it. You never know — that message may end up helping to save a life.”

The contest is a “result of all the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of labour in Canada agreeing last September to engage youth on workplace safety and fairness and to launch a social media video contest.”

There is also monetary incentive: $3,000 goes to the creator of the first-place video; $2,000 to second- place; and the third place video will receive $1,000.

The video submissions should be no more than two minutes in length. The submissions must be original work and be in by April 5. For more guidelines and where to submit your video, visit ontario.ca/videocontest.