The mother of one of the victims of last summerâs crane collapse in Âé¶čAV is speaking out on a day to remember those who lost their lives in a workplace accident.
A ceremony was held on April 28, the National Day of Mourning, at Âé¶čAVâs Ben Lee Park.
Danielle Pritchett is the mother of Cailen Vilness, one of five men who died July 12, 2021 when a crane collapsed at a construction site in Âé¶čAVâs downtown.
Pritchett spoke at the ceremony of her sonâs eagerness for a safe work environment.
âHe would come over to my house after work at various jobs and he would tell me of the infractions that he would see,â she said. âI said to him, âCailen, you can refuse unsafe work and nobody can fire you.â And so thatâs what he began to do. He began to point out if somebody wasnât tied off properly or whatever the infractions were that he saw and he began to be ostracized by his coworkers. He was ostracized by his bosses, the foremen, the company. He was even demoted in his duties on the job.â
READ MORE: PHOTOS: Hundreds gather for vigil for Âé¶čAV crane collapse victims
Âé¶čAV City Councillor Mohini Singh took to the mic.
âMore recently we had Harmandeep who was murdered on the job,â she said with an unsteady voice, referencing the death of UBCO Security Guard Harmandeep Kaur. âIt should not have happened. She was a young girl working at UBC only because she wanted to go to university there and she needed the job.â
There were a total of 161 work-related deaths in 2021, an increase of 10 from the year before.
âOccupational disease remains the single-leading cause of death for B.C. workers in 2021,â said WorkSafeBC Occupational Safety Officer Carl Howells. âIt took 99 livesâŠmany as a result of asbestos-related disease. 13 workers died because of COVID-19 exposure in their workplace.â
âThis is our responsibility as a community, as a culture,â Pritchett said to conclude her speech. âIf Iâve touched one heart here todayâŠthen if Iâve touched one heart and caused them to change the way they look at safety Iâve done my job here today.â
READ MORE: 161 deaths: B.C. remembers those lost to workplace injuries, disease in 2021
brittany.webster@blackpress.ca
Like us on and follow us on
