On Wednesday, January 7, a crowd of people gathered in downtown Vancouver to remember the four carpenters killed at the Bentall IV tower in 1981. The four men lost their lives when the flyform they were standing on, 36 stories up, suddenly collapsed.

Although the incident focused public attention on health and safety issues and the construction industry in particular, the families of those killed remind us there are still improvements to be made to keep B.C. workers safe on the job.

The annual memorial is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to policing workplace safety and campaigning for employers to be held to higher health and safety standards.

Mike Davis’ father, Donald Davis, was one of those killed in 1981. Donald Davis was 34 years old. In the video below, Mike Davis states: “The thought has crossed my mind that if only I could have stopped them from going to work that day. If I could’ve stopped dad from going to work. Or maybe I could’ve given him a bigger hug.”

Davis adds, “In some ways, there’s still a 13-year-old boy inside here who misses his dad.”