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Ceremonies across B.C. honour workers who died on the job

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Richmond, B.C., April 28, 2010 — Today, workers and employers remember those who have lost their lives as a result of their job at Day of Mourning ceremonies across the province. Last year in British Columbia, 121 workers died and more than 94,000 were injured as a result of workplace injury, illness or disease.

“On the Day of Mourning, we pause to remember those whose lives were tragically cut short, or changed forever by injury at the workplace. No words can adequately capture the impact of this loss on families, co-workers and communities,” said Minister of Labour Murray Coell. “Safety is a priority for the Ministry of Labour. I encourage all British Columbians to examine what each of us can do to further improve safety in the workplace, and honour those who have been impacted by workplace tragedy.”

“We honour and remember those workers that didn’t make it home at the end of their work day as well as their families that have suffered the devastating loss of a loved one to a traumatic fatality or an occupational disease,” said Dave Anderson, WorkSafeBC President and CEO. “Today, we renew our ongoing commitment to workplace health and safety with the belief that any workplace injury is unacceptable and absolutely preventable.” 

In addition to commemorative ceremonies throughout the province, more than 68,000 B.C. workers at over 600 workplaces will be wearing decals to recognize the Day of Mourning.

In Vancouver, a commemorative ceremony jointly hosted by the B.C. Federation of Labour, the Business Council of British Columbia and WorkSafeBC will start at 10:30 a.m. at the Vancouver Convention Centre's Jack Poole Plaza. In the Lower Mainland, more than 41,000 decals are being worn by workers across many industries and workplaces.

Ken Martin, President and CEO of Pacific Blue Cross, speaking on behalf of the Business Council of British Columbia said, “We all need to take responsibility for creating a safe and healthy workforce and for making sure that proper education and training is provided to help ensure that the tragedy of a workplace fatality never happens.”.

In 2009, of the 121 work-related fatalities, 61 were traumatic injuries and 60 were from occupational disease, mainly from exposure to asbestos. The general construction sector experienced the most overall fatalities with 29 deaths, followed by 23 in transportation and its related services and 15 in mineral products. Six young workers aged between 15 and 24 were fatally injured in 2009.

“Despite the strides forward in workplace safety over the years, there are still too many workers being killed on the job in B.C. We must not forget the terrible toll this takes on workers and their families. We must re-commit to making workplaces as safe as they can be,” said Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

Members of the WorkSafeBC Family Peer Support Program will also attend the Vancouver ceremony. The program connects trained volunteers who have lost a loved one in a workplace accident with other family members who are experiencing a similar loss. As part of WorkSafeBC's support system for grieving families, the province-wide program provides confidential support, reassurance, and education.

The national Day of Mourning held annually on April 28th was initiated by the Canadian Labour Congress in 1984 and was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991. Canada was the first country to recognize the day formally and today, 26 years later, the Day of Mourning is observed throughout the world in about 80 countries. For more information and list of B.C. ceremonies, visit www.worksafebc.com.

Those unable to attend an organized ceremony can pay tribute to a worker who has died through an online memorial at www.dayofmourning.bc.ca.

WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors that serves about two million workers and more than 200,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born from the historic compromise between B.C.’s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. WorkSafeBC is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.

For more information, contact:

Heather Young
Manager, Prevention Public Affairs
WorkSafeBC
604 214-5441 or 604 818-0020