'It didn’t need to happen': calls from London based advocates for better construction safety
The trench collapse that killed two construction workers in Ajax earlier this week hit close to home for those in the London area affected by similar tragedies.
Now that incident has some calling for stricter regulations and closer adherence to safety guidelines.
“I don’t want to see any of these guys get hurt, I don’t want to see them not go home, or go to the hospital and spend 28 days,” said injured construction worker Jacob Hurl, who can’t help but worry for workers he observes at the construction site just outside his home in Lucan.
Hurl, now 23, nearly lost his life when in December of 2020 he was working at a construction site on Temple Terrace in London when part of a roof collapsed. He was trapped under concrete and construction rubble for several hours, and continues to recover from his injuries. Two fellow workers died in that incident.
So when he learned of the fatal trench collapse in Ajax, a flood of emotions came pouring back.
“It made me angry, I was shaking, I didn’t sleep,” said Hurl.
He said he’d like to see tighter regulations at job sites, including more frequent safety inspections, and wants existing safety guidelines to be followed more closely.
“It didn’t need to happen. We have equipment in the construction industry, safety equipment to protect these guys. Part of one of those things is like a trench box.”
Trench boxes, used to shore up trench walls, were at the scene in Ajax, but it’s not known if they were in place when the incident happened.
The trench collapse, which also injured two other workers, is under investigation by the Ministry of Labour.
Former Londoner, Shirley Hickman lost her son Tim Hickman in a workplace accident in London in 1996. She has since founded and serves as the executive director of organization to support victims’ families called Threads of Life. She said workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility.
“So the employer has the duty to train, and to ensure it’s a safe workplace. The workers have the responsibility to work with those safety guidelines, and to ensure that they’re working properly and safely, with the right equipment. And the courage to say ‘no’ and walk away. And that’s a huge step for people to say ‘this doesn’t feel safe, and we have to stop this until we make it safe.’”
According to the Ministry of Labour there were 22 construction deaths in Ontario in 2021, slightly better than 2020, when there were 23 such fatalities.
But for those left to pick up the pieces, even one is too many.
“It’s a long journey of grief and loss, and investigations that they’re going to be facing, so it’s always the families that come to my mind first,” said Hickman.
Hurl, meantime, is training to become a project manager at construction sites, so he can promote safety from the inside.
“It hurts, you know. It hurts to see someone not be able to go home.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer filled with relief and grief following acquittal in death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.