Tears flow at Kelowna Day of Mourning ceremony
It’s the personal stories of injuries and loss in the workplace that make Day of Mourning ceremonies so poignant. Christine Molaison, now a French immersion kindergarten teacher in Vernon, told people gathered Sunday at Ben Lee Park in Kelowna about a workplace accident that changed her life.
“Fourteen years ago on April 28, 2010, at around 5:45, I was cleaning the meat grinder at the end of my work day. While I was reaching out to push the blade, my apron got stuck on a switch with my arm inside of it. There was no guard, no kill switch and the power cord plugged in behind an industrial-sized stove.
“I had no way out and I was immediately amputated,” she tearfully told the North Okanagan Labour Council’s annual ceremony. “I spent my 22nd birthday in the hospital getting ready for surgery in less than a week,” Molaison said. “Fourteen years ago, my life changed forever. Today is hard. Today’s a brutal reminder that never goes away.
“I was 21 years old when I lost my arm in a faulty meat grinder. A $20 part would have fixed the issue and the story would be a very different one.
“I live with limb loss, phantom pain and forever low self image. I also battle with depression, sleep loss and anxiety. Losing my arm and fingers forever changed me.”
But Molaison has built a successful life.
“I’m not here to feel sorry for myself. My husband and I are raising two beautiful and wonderful smart children. I have a career I like and a home I love. I’m doing OK.
“I’m here to remind my almost 22-year-old self that, yes, you have the right and should refuse unsafe work. Trust your gut, as I should have trusted mine, and walk away.”
Molaison was one of three people who told personal stories at the ceremony.
The Day of Mourning has been observed since 1984. Launched by the labour movement, it is held to remember workers who died or were injured because of their jobs.
Workplace injuries and illnesses claimed the lives of 175 B.C. workers last year, according to WorkSafeBC. Occupational disease claimed 93 workers, with 48 of those deaths resulting from asbestos exposure often decades ago. Sixty workers died from a traumatic injury, including falls from elevation, being struck by objects, and being caught in equipment and/or machinery. Motor vehicle incidents claimed 22 workers.
“I wish days like this didn’t have to exist,” said the NOLC’s new president Nicole Cabrejos, who is a member of CUPE 1123, which represents Okanagan Regional Library workers. “Around the world, every 15 seconds, one worker dies. On any given day in Canada, three people will die from a work-related fatality, life-altering injury or occupational disease,” she said.
Speakers stressed the impact on family members.
“Today is not about numbers or statistics, it is about the loved ones, family members and coworkers who are directly affected, left behind and deeply impacted, all because of a workplace tragedy,” Cabrejos said.
The downtown Kelowna crane collapse in July 2021 that killed five people was not the main focus of this year’s ceremony, as it was last year, but was mentioned by several speakers.
The NOLC launched a crane memorial project, which has now been taken over by a society. Hopes are to begin construction this summer in Knowles Heritage Park downtown.
“Three years later, the pain of their loss endures in this community and indeed throughout the province,” said Hermender Singh Kelley, BC Federation of Labour secretary-treasurer.
“The loss of the five young people in the crane accident still ripples through the city, still tugs at our heartstrings,” said Kelowna Coun. Mohini Singh.