After the release of a report into an incident that killed a worker in Vancouver last year, Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLA and labour critic Kiel Giddens is calling on the provincial government to make crane safety a bigger priority.
On March 12, WorkSafeBC released a report into a February 2024 incident at the Oakridge Park development in Vancouver, where a worker was killed after a mould used for concrete fell on her from a height of 26 storeys.
The Canadian Press reported that the accident led to 1,700 workers being evacuated from the city.
The agency further reported that the report studied CCTV footage that showed there were no effective controls in place and safety protocols that weren’t being followed, including workers standing under suspended loads.
The worker who was killed, Yuridia Flores, was standing in what was supposed to be a ground control zone off-limits to workers. WorkSafeBC noted that there was a lack of clarity among the contractors on-site as to who was responsible for those zones.
In a statement sent out on March 14, Giddens said “more needs to be done on crane safety in BC to protect workers.”
Giddens also pointed out that WorkSafeBC has yet to issue a report on the deadly crane collapse in Kelowna in July 2021 that killed five people. He called on Labour Minister Jennifer Whitehead to direct WorkSafeBC to carry out that work.
Speaking to The Citizen by phone later on March 14, Giddens said he’s spoken with both BC Building Trades and construction associations, who “want the recommendations of that report to be released so that they can make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make crane safety a priority.”
“I’m hearing that a lot of the existing rules are not being clearly understood and that WorkSafeBC could be doing more to educate on existing rules and regulations and making sure that proper training and certification is actually in place,” Giddens said.
“’I mentioned construction being important because it is complicated. You have prime contractors and you have subcontractors and sometimes subs of subs … you need to have clear accountabilities for making sure that every safety procedures has been properly followed.”
The MLA said he would continued to bring this item up in future opportunities, like during question period at the Legislature. He added that he brought it up with Whiteside during a meeting this week and would bring it up again in a meeting next week.
On an unrelated topic, Giddens said he’s also looking to make sure that hospital workers are safe from exposure to illicit substances.
In a statement sent to The Citizen by email, Whiteside said every workplace fatality is a tragedy.
“The Oakridge Park crane incident that took the life of Yuridia Flores, and the Kelowna crane collapse in 2021 that took the lives of Cailen Vilness, Jared Zook, Brad Zawislak, Eric Stemmer and Patrick Stemmer are tragedies that serve as a stark reminder of the importance of workplace safety,” Whiteside said.
“It’s the responsibility of every employer to make sure that workers come home from their shift safe and healthy. We are working with WorkSafeBC, industry and labour representatives to address gaps in crane safety and advance new safety initiatives and regulatory measures.”
She added that WorkSafeBC recently launched a multi-pronged strategy aimed at improving crane safety in this province, which includes a review of certification programming for crane operators and better training for supervisors, riggers and workers working with crane.
The government is also developing new regulations for more frequent tower crane inspections as well as updating occupational health and safety regulations.
