54 B.C. construction workers died, according to latest annual report from WorkSafeBC

OVER the past 35 years, there has never been a deadlier 12-month span for construction workers.

The latest work-related death statistics from WorkSafeBC show that 54 construction workers died in 2022, the latest year for which fatalities are confirmed.

The 54 people who died (28 due to trauma and 26 due to exposure) represent 74% more than the average number of annual construction worker deaths over the previous three decades.

Those 54 workers who died because of their jobs will be remembered this Friday at the Bentall IV Memorial at Art Phillips Park in downtown Vancouver.

“This is a staggering amount of death in the construction industry,” said Brynn Bourke, executive director of the BC Building Trades Council.

“One worker dead is always one too many, but 54 people dying because of their job really points to fundamental issues that must be addressed. After 43 years, those lessons of safety, regulation and enforcement still have not been learned.”

On January 7, 1981, four construction workers died in a harrowing workplace accident. Carpenters Gunther Couvreux, Brian Stevenson, Donald Davis and Yrjo Mitrunen plunged 36 floors to their deaths when their fly form on the Bentall IV tower collapsed.

It was a catastrophic incident that, to this day, illustrates the need for strict safety measures and enforcement on construction sites.

In the years since the Bentall tragedy, more than 1,100 B.C. construction workers have died due to workplace trauma or disease.

Members of the BC Building Trades, its affiliate unions and political leaders will gather on Friday, January 5 at Art Phillips Park in Vancouver to remember and honour those who died in the Bentall IV tragedy and all construction workers who have died since.

The gathering begins at 11:30 a.m. with the ceremony set for 12 p.m.