Day of Mourning for killed or seriously injured workers observed in Vancouver

Family members, workers, unions and employers gathered at a ceremony in Vancouver Saturday to remember workers killed or seriously injured on the job.

The event, organized by WorkSafeBC and the B.C. Federation of Labour, marked the national Day of Mourning. It was one of several held across the province, as well as around the country.

Longshoreman Laurie Schildt attended the ceremony, which began at 10 a.m. with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron and ended at Jack Poole Plaza.

Schildt was there to commemorate a former co-worker, Cheryl Muscroft, who was also a longshoreman. Muscroft was killed on the job in 2009 during what Schildt described as a "freak accident."

"She was a good woman and a hard worker," she said, wearing a sign with her colleague's name. "We miss her dearly."

Muscroft left behind a daughter, Schildt said, adding that better safety precautions have been put in place since she died. 

Al Johnson, the vice president of prevention services for WorkSafeBC, said the Day of Mourning was important to mark deaths like Muscroft's, and also to raise awareness to help prevent them.

"Deaths in the workplace are not acceptable," Johnson said. "One death is one too many."

In 2017, 158 workers across the province died on the job, he said — 87 caused by occupational diseases mainly linked to exposure to asbestos decades ago, and 71 from traumatic injuries.  

Johnson said traumatic deaths may be decreasing, but deaths from work-related disease are on the rise. 

Joe Foster, assistant chief of occupational health and safety for Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, echoed Johnson's concerns.

Firefighters are lost each year to occupational cancers and on-the-job accidents, he said. Last year, Vancouver lost two firefighters, Foster said — one to cancer and one to suicide. 

"Mental health is a devastating, debilitating disease and it's just starting to be more recognized, especially in the first responder community," he said.

The ceremony ended with participants laying out 50 coffins to represent some of the dozens of deaths across the province.

With files from The Canadian Press.