KAMLOOPS — Saturday marks the annual Day of Mourning, an event commemorating workers who have been killed or injured on the job.
In Kamloops, the local Day of Mourning event will take place at 6 p.m. at St. Andrews on the Square.
Workers will be honoured with the laying of wreaths and speakers will tell their stories of injury.
According to WorkSafeBC 158 workers were killed on the job in B.C. last year, and many of those deaths were caused by asbestos exposure.
“That’s why we’re very tough on asbestos, because unlike traumatic injuries the hazard from asbestos isn’t right at that moment, it may come up decades later,” said Kamloops Regional Prevention Manager Patrick Davie. “So, we’ve got an issue going on where we’re addressing asbestos, especially right here in Kamloops as we change.”
Of the six recorded work-related deaths in the Kamloops region last year, two were related to asbestos exposure.
WorkSafeBC has a mandate to reduce the number of injuries, illnesses and deaths to zero, and the Day of Mourning highlights the responsibility every employer and worker has to maintain a safe workplace.
“It’s a time to take a moment and think about where you work, and how you can make your workplace safer, think about responsibilities, not just your employers, thinks about your own responsibilities,” Davie said. “You can make a difference, and really the cost of doing nothing is too high.”
