Health and Safety History in BC

B.C.’s first pulp mill opened at Swanson Bay. Pulp workers faced unique workplace risks, and through their unions made pulp and paper mills safer places to work.

The Vancouver Island coal strike wasn’t about money. The mines were death traps, with frequent, lethal explosions from built-up gas. After hundreds of deaths, the government finally allowed miners to appoint their own safety inspectors in 1912. But when inspector Oscar Mottishaw reported dangerous gas levels in the Number Two Mine at Extension, he was immediately fired.

In protest, miners took a one-day holiday on September 16, 1912. Mine owners retaliated by locking out 1,600 miners in Extension, Ladysmith, and Cumberland the very next day. This ignited a brutal 23-month fight for union recognition.

Frustration boiled over on August 13, 1913, with violent riots in Ladysmith and Extension. Strikebreakers’ homes were looted and burned.

The outbreak of World War I dried up support for the labor movement. The union eventually ran out of money, and in July 1914, it was forced to cut off strike pay. The miners voted to end their strike a month later, and because of blacklisting, few were ever rehired. It took another 20 years before the Vancouver Island miners finally organized the mines and secured a union contract.

The British Columbia Workers Compensation Act, enacted in 1917, established a no-fault compensation system for workplace injuries by replacing the right to sue employers with an insurance-based system funded by employers.

Bea Zucco camped out with her children on the steps of the BC legislature in an effort to secure a pension for her dying husband Jack, a hard rock underground miner who was stricken with silicosis from breathing silica dust. It was only afterJack Zucco died that Workmen’s Compensation regulations were changed, thanks to her persistence and advocacy.

The sudden collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge being built across Burrard Inlet on June 17, 1958, claimed nineteen lives. It remains the worst industrial accident in the history of Vancouver.

The year after the collapse, a strike by Ironworkers Local 97 left an unfinished section of the bridge hanging over a busy road. When the union refused to resume work to fix the section during their strike, they ended up in court and were defended by Tom Berger.

In 1994, the bridge was renamed the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing.

Before 1974, there was no established provincial ambulance service in BC. For those in rural or isolated communities, the absence of an organized emergency response system meant valuable time was often lost before the injured or ill received necessary medical attention. The BC Ambulance Service set a high standard that was later adopted by other provinces.

The major commercial fishery in BC began with the first canneries along the coast in the late 1800s. The work was hard and the money was good. It was also dangerous work and over the years many fishermen were fatally injured. Fishermen weren’t considered “workers” under the 1916 Workers’ Compensation Act, leaving their families without support if they died.

After a series of high-profile fatalities in 1975, the government finally acted, making a key legislative change that brought fishermen under the protection of the Workers’ Compensation Act. Although initial safety enforcement faced pushback, the industry eventually embraced a collaborative approach.

Historically, agriculture in British Columbia lacked safety regulations. While large-scale farming grew in the 20th century, health and safety were not prioritized, and farmworkers had no rights or compensation. A worker who immigrated in 1973 was shocked by the poor conditions and abusive treatment. Farm owners, focused on profit, resisted change, viewing their land as private property rather than a workplace.

In 1979, the Farm Workers Organizing Committee (FWOC) was formed, later becoming the Canadian Farmworkers Union (CFU) with the help of the BC labour movement. The union’s tireless advocacy, including public demonstrations, put pressure on the government. This led to a significant victory in the 1990s when new legislation brought farmworkers under the protection of the Workers’ Compensation Act. These efforts have made farming safer, but advocates stress that the fight for a fully safe and fair industry continues.

Four carpenters working on the construction of the Bentall IV building in downtown Vancouver lost their lives when the flyform they were standing on – 36 floors above the ground –  suddenly collapsed beneath their feet. It was a critical moment in British Columbia’s history that immediately focused attention on the construction industry and ultimately resulted in fundamental changes to B.C.’s occupational health and safety regulations.

Canada’s annual day of mourning to commemorate workers killed or injured on the job is always a solemn occasion. After concerted effort by the labour movement, Parliament proclaimed  April 28 as the National Day of Mourning for workplace victims, ordering federal flags to be flown at half-mast across the country. commemorates workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness due to workplace related hazards and occupational exposures.

In BC, the Day of Mourning has been extended into the province’s high schools where students observe a moment of silence and are reminded that young workers are twice as likely to be hurt or killed on the job as older workers.

Grant De Patie was 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 license plate number as instructed by his employer.

De Patie’s death prompted his family, in collaboration with the BC Federation of Labour, to advocate for new safety regulations for late-night workers. These efforts led to the creation of “Grant’s Law” in early 2008, which was the first of its kind in Canada.

An explosion at the Babine Forest Products sawmill January 20, 2012, killed two and injured 20 workers. WorkSafeBC concluded inadequate dust collection and dry conditions were the cause. Three months later, a similar explosion at Lakeland Mill also killed two and injured 22 workers. A case study offers an overview of the tragedy, a summary of WorkSafeBC’s investigation findings, articles detailing BFP’s disagreement with WorkSafeBC, and the ruling on the Lakeland Mills explosion

Asbestos was officially banned in British Columbia (and the rest of Canada) in 2018. Decades of asbestos use has had devastating consequences to workers and others who were exposed. Because exposure can manifest symptoms long after exposure, asbestos remains the most common cause of death among workers for decades.

In March 2020 a public health emergency was declared in BC due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. In June, the BC Labour Heritage Centre began to record and preserve first-hand accounts of BC’s working people as numerous emergency measures were instituted to reduce the spread of the virus. Recorded interviews with over 60 individuals captured the fears, anguish and courage of workers in the early months of the pandemic, documenting the ways that unions pivoted during the crisis. A video team visited Guy Quesnel, BC’s only unionized barbershop in New Westminster and recorded his experiences.

The Asbestos Memorial was officially dedicated by the BC Labour Heritage Centre on September 22, 2022. Located on the north-west corner of the waterfront path at Vancouver Convention Centre West, the Asbestos Memorial includes Doug R Taylor’s dynamic kinetic sculpture “Wind Wheel Mobile” driven only by the wind. Rich in symbolism, it is destined to become one of Vancouver’s most iconic images. The memorial honours the thousands who have died, and continue to die from asbestos exposure and will spark public awareness of the ongoing danger that surrounds us.

The memorial sits at the foot of the “Line of Work” installation that profiles workers killed and injured on the job. It faces Burrard Inlet, where for decades asbestos was loaded into ships for export. We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia, and our other major partners.