“We want them all to come home safely”: Day of Mourning commemorated in PG

It was a somber mood as rain fell on a crowd of people commemorating the National Day of Mourning in Prince George today. (Sunday)

A crowd of around 50 gathered at the Workers’ Memorial Statue on the corner of Patricia Boulevard and Queensway to remember those who either passed away or were injured on the job.

“We have so many workers that we care for in this province and in our communities,” said WorkSafe BC Manager of Prevention Field Services Steven Mueller.

“We want them all to come home safely, unfortunately, our history tells us that they don’t all come home safely, so we’re here to remember those people, to honour those workers, and pledge together that we’ll do everything possible to prevent unneeded deaths and injuries in the future.”

Mueller added while WorkSafe BC can’t dictate the outcomes of what happens in the workplace, regulations are an important part of keeping workers safe.

“They set a set of parameters, guidelines for employers to follow, we want to work with those employers, we want to work with the trade unions, we want to work with individual workers so that everybody understands what those hazards are, they understand what their obligations are together, because this has to be done together.”

According to WorkSafe BC,

• Occupational disease was the number one killer of workers in 2022, claiming the lives of 107 workers, with 61 of those deaths resulting from asbestos exposure.
• A total of 48 workers died from a traumatic injury last year, such as falls from elevation, struck by objects, caught in equipment and/or machinery.
• Motor vehicle incidents claimed the lives of 26 workers in 2022.
• Five young workers died in 2022, highlighting the importance of protecting the most vulnerable members of the workforce.

• Workplace injuries and illnesses also resulted in about 4-million lost days of work in 2022.