175 workers died in B.C. in 2023, WorkSafeBC says
Last year, 175 people lost their lives to injuries or illnesses suffered at work, according to accepted work-related death claims from WorkSafeBC.
The agency released workplace death statistics for the year on Sunday, which was observed as a Day of Mourning across Canada to remember those who died on the job. More than two dozen ceremonies were held in communities across B.C.
“Every single one of those numbers is a worker who went to their job and should have come back in the same condition they left in, but they didn’t,” said Stephen von Sychowski, president of the Vancouver and District Labour Council, who emceed the downtown Vancouver ceremony, attended by several elected officials and union leaders.
“One workplace death is already too many,” he continued. “We have to do everything in our power to ensure every worker is safe every day.”
WorkSafeBC says occupational disease remained the number one killer of workers in 2023, accounting for 93 of the 175 deaths. Of those, 48 fatalities stemmed from asbestos exposure, “often decades ago.”
Sixty workers died from “traumatic injury” last year, which includes falls, being struck by objects, or getting caught in machinery.
Motor vehicle incidents killed 22 workers in 2023.
Construction was the most deadly sector last year, claiming 39 lives.
Of the 175 workers killed, 163 were male and 12 were female, while three were young workers between the ages of 15 and 24.
The 2023 death toll is slightly lower than in 2022, when 181 workers died.
“I’ll never forget sitting down with the Gale family, who lost their daughter firefighting in a workplace-related tragedy that devastated the entire community. The story of the hardworking mother of two at the Oakridge development killed in a crane accident,” Premier David Eby said at the Vancouver ceremony.
“We all have an interest as British Columbians to ensure that everybody is safe at work, families are kept together, that people live long, full and happy, healthy lives, and that will truly ensure the prosperity of our province,” he continued.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Tim Meadows pledges not to shave until the Oilers win the cup, who are the team's other famous fans?
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Luxury beauty brand Clarins to pull out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada
French luxury makeup and skincare brand Clarins is pulling out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada.
'It's over': Minister says B.C.'s decision on Surrey police transition upheld in court
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in the provincial government's favour on the City of Surrey's legal challenge to its ongoing transition to a municipal police force, according to B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.