Death & Disease

Colin was born in northern England in 1940. His working-class consciousness developed at an early age. At 16, he apprenticed as a shipwright and during his apprenticeship participated in a short strike. Colin’s father died in the war, but his...

Ken Johnstone made a point of attending the annual Ironworkers Bridge Memorial on each anniversary of its deadly collapse. He was a humble man who would stand quietly at the back. Like many in Vancouver, Johnstone couldn’t forget June 17,...

This bronze plaque is located in the Bowen Road Cemetery, 555 Bowen Road, Nanaimo. It is immediately west of the maintenance facility. It was developed with the support of the Nanaimo Historical Society and the BC Building Trades Council. It...

Produced by the United Steelworkers, a full decade before asbestos was banned in Canada, the video "Asbestos: The Silent Killer" discusses the harmful effects of asbestos exposure on workers, particularly those from the Trail, BC smelter.

A poignant tribute to the four carpenters who tragically lost their lives in the Bentall IV tower construction accident in downtown Vancouver on January 7, 1981. The video highlights the victims, the accident, the aftermath and legacy.

Produced by the BC Federation of Labour Health and Safety Centre, this video describes the history behind the April 28 Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, which began in Canada and is now observed around...

This 10-minute video features poignant interviews with workers who survived the catastrophic collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge (now the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge) in 1958. They recount the harrowing moments of the disaster, detailing the sounds, the immediate chaos, and...

This video tells the life story of Lloyd O'Brien. After losing his leg in an industrial accident at 18, Lloyd recognized the critical need for proper emergency medical care, leading him to become a part-time ambulance driver.

This 13-minute video chronicles the evolution of safety measures in British Columbia's fishing industry, highlighting the significant challenges and eventual improvements in working conditions for fishers.

Dire working conditions and unfair treatment fueled a movement to advocate for BC farmworkers’ rights in the 1970s, soon becoming the Canadian Farmworkers Union, a first in Canada.

Verna Ledger got her first job in 1953 at a plywood mill in New Westminster, BC. She found the working conditions challenging due to the noise, dust, and strong chemical smells from resins that caused breathing difficulties.

These teaching materials are a case study on workplace health and safety, focusing on two sawmill explosions in British Columbia: Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake and Lakeland Mill in Prince George.

Asbestos is the leading cause of death in today’s workplace. Because diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis can take decades to appear, it will continue to be a killer for many more years. This video is part of our Labour...

A tribute to Sarbjit Sidhu, Amarjeet Kaur Bal, and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia, who tragically died in a van accident on March 7, 2007. The crash, which occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia, involved a van carrying 17 farmworkers.

A deeply personal story is set against a broader historical backdrop of asbestos use and its devastating consequences in Canada. The video implicitly and explicitly touches on a historical narrative that explains why Dave Ford, and so many others became...

This bronze plaque is located in Burnaby BC, along the Central Valley Greenway near where the incident occurred. It was developed with the support of the City of Burnaby. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in...

This bronze plaque is located along Dewdney Trunk Road at 248 Street in Maple Ridge, BC. It was developed with the support of the BC Federation of Labour. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond...

This bronze plaque is located on the Miners’ Walk at Fernie City Hall, 501-3rd Ave., Fernie BC It was developed with the support of the United Steelworkers and the East Kootenay District Labour Council, and was unveiled on September 16,...

This bronze plaque is located at the Barriere Bandshell, on Barriere Township Rd. It was developed with the support of the Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond which...

An explosion at the No. 3 Mine at Coal Creek, BC on April 5, 1917 instantly killed all 34 men working underground. The disaster profoundly affected the community. Investigations into the cause of the explosion yielded no clear explanation, and...

A devastating coal dust explosion while the SS Queen of the Pacific was being loaded with coal in Nanaimo, BC on July 29, 1886 caused the deaths of 9 longshoremen and seamen. The immediate suspect for the blast was highly...

"Grant's Law," tells the story of Grant De Patie, a 24-year-old gas station attendant who was killed in March 2005 during a "gas-and-dash" incident in Maple Ridge, BC. Grant was struck and dragged to his death after attempting to record...

A work train carrying Japanese labourers derailed near Burnaby Lake, BC, on November 28, 1909 resulting in a devastating loss of life. The unheated boxcar, carrying 43 passengers, plunged into a ravine after the ground beneath the tracks washed away...

This booklet examines the explosion on board the SS Green Hill Park, a Canadian merchant vessel, in Vancouver, BC harbour in 1945, killing two seamen and six longshoremen, and the Inquiry in the aftermath.

Out of the loss of her husband to an occupational-related illness came one woman’s crusade for change. See the rest of our Working People Lesson Plans here.

On June 17, 1958, the bridge under construction at Second Narrows collapsed. In memory of the workers killed, the bridge is now known as the Ironworkers’ Memorial Second Narrows Crossing. See the rest of our Working People Lesson Plans here.

Young children have always been part of the work force in British Columbia. Through the story of the explosion at Coal Creek mines in Fernie, this film examines the issue of child labour. See the rest of our Working People...

Wayne Mills is a second-generation operating engineer with decades of involvement in the labour movement. In this interview, Wayne discusses his early training and work experiences operating large cranes on various construction projects across British Columbia, including dams and mines....

Neil Menard was born in Nipawin, in northern Saskatchewan. Neil joined the navy and served as signalman on the HMCS Fraser and the HMCS St. Laurent. When he returned from the navy, Neil worked a few years alternating between hockey...

In this far-reaching conversation, Lee Loftus discusses his experiences as a third-generation insulator, and union member and executive with the Heat and Frost Insulators Union Local 118 in British Columbia. This interview was conducted by Ken Novakowski on March 19,...

Unions have been fighting since the 1970s for strict regulations in the use of asbestos and decent compensation for those ill and dying from its deadly fibres. People are still getting sick from exposure decades ago. In this episode of...

Tom Berger (1933-2021) is remembered as a legal groundbreaker and social justice advocate for Canada’s Indigenous people. Less well-known is that Berger got his first taste of fighting against injustice as a young Vancouver labour lawyer in a case that...

Bea Zucco's campaign against the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) helped shift provincial policy on silicosis claims and remains a notable example of grassroots advocacy for workers’ health and rights. In this episode of On the Line we recount the remarkable...

Gordon J Kelly was known as a calm, kind and fair-headed longshore leader. When the Spanish Flu pandemic killed him in 1918, thousands came to his lavish funeral.

Clarence Clemens moved to British Columbia from Edmonton sometime in 1937. He soon found work on the docks as a longshoreman employed by Empire Stevedoring and settled into the predominantly Black neighbourhood of Strathcona in East Vancouver. The heart of...

The thousands of Chinese immigrants who endured so much helping to unite Canada by rail left little record of their ordeal. But we do have one personal account written by former railway worker Wong Hau-Hon in 1926. Following are some...