Justin Comeau, a Prevention Officer with WorkSafe BC, speaking at the Day of Mourning ceremony outside Vernon City Hall Monday, April 28 (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Day of Mourning

North Okanagan workers among those honoured at Day of Mourning ceremony

Apr 28, 2025 | 1:12 PM

Personal stories were shared and a moment of silence was held as part of a National Day of Mourning ceremony held outside Vernon City Hall Monday, April 28.

The event was to commemorate the workers, including some in the North Okanagan, who lost their lives, suffered injuries, or contracted an illness at their workplace.

“The Day of Mourning allows us to reflect on the human cost of workplace injury and disease,” Justin Comeau, a prevention officer with WorkSafe BC, said at the ceremony in Vernon.

“In 2024, workplace injuries and illnesses claimed the lives of 146 workers in B.C., two of which were in our region of the North Okanagan.

“More than half of these worker-related deaths were the result of occupational disease, 37 of which were due to exposure to asbestos. Thirty-eight deaths were a result of a traumatic incident at the work site , and 30 were because of motor vehicle accidents or incidents.”

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There were also speeches by Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming; Allyson Reich of Vernon Fire Rescue Services; Neil Kennedy of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP; Amy Klassen, a constituency advisor for Vernon-Lumby MLA, Harwinder Sandhu; Jenni Small, the occupational health and safety advisor for the City of Vernon; and Sheri Byalecki, an operations coordinator for the City of Vernon.

All the speakers reflected on the risks workers face, and reaffirmed the commitments their governments or organizations have made to protect workers’ health and safety, including mental health, in the workplace.

They also acknowledged that this event was important to remember the people that lost their lives due to workplace incidents, adding those deaths also impact the lives of their families, friends, and coworkers.