The Town of Port McNeill, in conjunction with local industry, held a day of mourning ceremony Friday to honour workers lost and injured from work-related incidents or occupational disease.
Port McNeill Mayor Shirley Ackland welcomed the large crowd of people who came from all over the North Island to pay their respects and remember those lost and injured during the tragic logging railway incident in Woss last week when three people died.
“It is our time to reach out and support one another in this difficult time of grieving and on through the long journey of healing that lies ahead,” said Ackland, who then introduced the first speaker, Western Forest Products Regional Manager Clint Cadwallader.
Cadwallader greeted the crowd by saying they looked like B.C. workers.
“Today we are mourning our losses and honouring the fallen, the injured, and committing to ourselves and our loved ones that we will strive for a safer workplace. To me, today is also about supporting, healing and coping — together.”
Cadwallader said last year in B.C. there were a 144 workers that died as a result of workplace incidents, and many more were injured.
“Many of us here have lost family, friends, and coworkers due to the tragic accident in Woss… We are devastated by this loss.”
Cadwallader added WFP “will continue to do what we can to support the families, employees and the entire community.”
United Steel Workers representative Dan Jorgenson spoke next. “We lost three brothers last week… All of them should have been able to come home that night. It is devastating to their families, friends and co-workers that they did not. They are grieving and our community grieves with them… workers lives are important, worth fighting for, and while we mourn the dead, we must fight for the living.”
Lemare Lake Logging representative Eric Dutcyvich said there “isn’t a person here who hasn’t been impacted in some way by a workplace accident. This is a time to think about how we can best support each other and the families impacted by workplace fatality and injury. All of us would do anything to roll back the clock and prevent that horrible tragedy last week… The day of mourning is a painful and galvanizing reminder that we all need to do better.”
Strategic Natural Resource Consultants representative Jonathan Lok spoke afterwards, saying April 28 is “the day of mourning — an opportunity for us all to remember those who have lost their lives to work related incidents or occupational disease. Today, this message weighs heavier than any of us deserve. Last week’s tragedy in Woss ripped at the heart of our North Island communities. It is not the first time we have lost friends, colleagues and family, and it certainly does not get any easier. Today is about having the courage to care, to remember those who didn’t make it home, and to renew our commitment to ensure nobody pays this price again.”
Port McNeill councillors Jay Dixon and Graham MacDonald placed a bouquet of flowers down on the ground on behalf of the town and the community of Port McNeill, honouring the lost and injured, before a moment of silence commenced.
After the ceremony, Ackland said the town not only invited workers from WFP, Lemare and Strategic, but also “opened it up to the members of the community. It’s important for those of us on the North Island to come together and support one another. It’s been a very tragic week since the accident in Woss, and we needed to have that show of strength for one another, because it’s going to be a long period of grieving ahead.”