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WCB remembers lives lost
20th anniversary of the Day of Mourning
Richmond, B.C., April 28, 2004 — Today the Workers' Compensation
Board of British Columbia (WCB) will commemorate the 20th anniversary
of the Day of Mourning in Canada. Since 1984, a total of 16,452 Canadian
workers — 2,961 in British Columbia — have lost their lives as
the result of workplace injury, illness, or disease. In 2003 alone, 170
B.C. workers did not go home at the end of their workday.
20th anniversary of the Day of Mourning
"Workplace injuries and fatalities are preventable," said David Anderson, WCB president and CEO. "Employers, workers, and the WCB have a shared responsibility to make sure that every worker and every workplace is safe."
The WCB, B.C. Federation of Labour, and Business Council of British Columbia will co-host a public ceremony today at the Workers' Memorial in Vancouver. Workers, employers, families of fatally-injured workers, and other interested parties are invited to attend.
10:00 a.m.
The Sanctuary in Hastings Park
(Between the PNE buildings and Playland
- accessible from Renfrew Street, near the Gate 2 entrance)
The ceremony will feature a procession to the memorial and a moment of silence. Guest speakers will include:
- Trudy Strand, mother of a fatally injured worker
- Jean Potvin, a seriously injured worker
- Rob Nijjar, MLA Vancouver Kingsway
- David Anderson, President & CEO, WCB
- Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour
- Jerry Lampert, President, Business Council of British Columbia
Trudy Strand will share thoughts and memories of her son Ryan, who died in the oil fields of Fort St. John. "Ryan was a conscientious, diligent 25-year-old who had nothing but glowing performance reports," said Trudy. "If it could happen to him, it could happen to anyone."
Jean Potvin will look back to May 1st, 2003 when he experienced a life-threatening injury. "It only took five seconds to change my life." While Jean lay in a hospital bed, his wife was told that even if he survived the first 24 hours, he would be a quadriplegic with a permanent brain injury.
In B.C.
An average of 3 workers die every week
Almost 3,000 work injuries are reported every week
And 20 workers are permanently disabled every working day
Serving almost two million workers and 173,000 employers, the Workers'
Compensation Board of B.C. is a provincial statutory agency governed by
a Board of Directors and fully funded by employer-paid premiums. The WCB
is committed to a safe and healthy workplace and providing return-to-work
rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits to workers injured
or suffering occupational disease as a result of their employment.
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For more information please contact: |
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Donna Freeman |
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