Ceremony held in Vancouver for anniversary of Bentall Centre tragedy
Posted January 6, 2023 4:41 pm.
Last Updated January 6, 2023 4:42 pm.
Labour leaders, construction industry officials, and family members gathered in Downtown Vancouver Friday ahead of the anniversary of the Bentall Centre tragedy.
Saturday will mark 42 years since four workers plunged to their deaths from the 36th floor of the Bentall Four tower when an overhanging platform used for pouring concrete collapsed as the tower was under construction.
A memorial has been held at the location every year since the 1981 tragedy. Those in attendance Friday laid down flowers and wreaths on a commemorative plaque.
Dianne Stevenson lost her brother-in-law, Brian Stevenson in the incident, and reflected on what her family member has missed in the last four decades.
“It’s just the possibilities of what we missed, what those 42 years could have been, you know, that he was that young, he was about to be married in the next six months so it devastated his fiancée,” she said.
“But it’s all that you lost from there ever after. His children, his legacy that he would have had. So it’s heartwarming to have people come out, it’s reassuring to know that people are still fighting for work safety, but it’s painful to bring it all up again.”
Brian Stevenson died at Bentall IV on Jan. 7, 1981. This is his sister-in-law Dianne Stevenson. “We can’t turn back the clock on what happened but we can stay determined to change and move work safety forward.” pic.twitter.com/s9AqfvAmGA
— BC Building Trades (@WeBuildBC) January 6, 2023
B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains says the anniversary of the incident highlights the importance of workplace safety.
“Standing here today, 42 years since the tragedy serves both as a commemoration of the four lives as well as a reminder of the importance of making each and every workplace, every job site in B.C. as safe as it can possibly be,” he said.
The deaths of the four carpenters prompted a provincewide inquiry and a series of recommendations that made the use of fly forms and other construction methods much safer.
