BC workplace deaths remembered at Bentall tragedy memorial

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It was an emotional day for the families of four workers who plunged to their deaths from a platform on the 37th floor of the Bentall Tower on this day in 1981.

The annual Bentall tragedy memorial honouring those men and all the other BC workers who have died on the job since was attended by Labour Minister Margaret MacDiarmid, BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair, MLAs, city councillors, and relatives of the deceased.

Mike Davis was just 13 years old when his father fell from Tower 4 and says it could have been prevented.

He says his father Donald never got to meet his wife or sons or see him grow into a man. He says January 7, 1981 is still fresh in his mind.

“I still miss my dad terribly,” he says. “It may seem like a lot of years to most people but to me it was just the other day. My dad didn’t come home that day. I didn’t realize when I said bye to him in the morning it would be the last time I talked to him.”

He gets emotional talking about the things he used to do with his dad.

“Camping, skating, goofing around, wrestling during commercials while watching TV: I never got to do those things again, and at 13, I became the man of the house. I didn’t ask for that. It wasn’t fair that I had to do that,” he says.

In 2010 there were 33 workplace deaths in BC.

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