It's not easy for Joyce Stevenson to make her way to the Bentall Centre each year.
But the teary mother made the pilgrimage yesterday to honour her son, Brian, who at the age of 21 was one of four workers killed in a construction accident at the Bentall Centre Jan. 1, 1981.
A plaque at the Burrard Skytrain station recognizing the tragedy is now an annual focal point for advocates demanding better worker safety.
"They've got to keep it up, no ands, ifs or buts," Stevenson told 24 hours. "They have to look out for safety. For me [the day] is always sorrowful. [Brian] was going to be married. He was a great guy."
Since the disaster, there have been another 740 work-related deaths in Canada - an unacceptable figure for Wayne Peppard.
"If 740 people went down in an air disaster, the world would know about it," said the B.C. director of the Building and Construction Trades Council. "But when 740 people die at work or because of exposure over a 29-year period it becomes, at worst, a cost of progress. We are here to commemorate four workers who did not die in vain."
Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang joined in on the calls for increased safety.
"When you go off to work in the morning, you should come back safely at the end of the day," Jang said. "We live in one of the most modern, most well-education societies ... and yet [construction deaths] seem to be OK."
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THE LOWDOWN:
Four workers of the Jan. 7, 1981 Bentall Centre disaster:
Brian Stevenson, 21
Donald W. Davis, 34
Yrjo Mitrunen, 49
Gunther Couvreux, 49
