Chris Vilness fought back tears as he shared the heartbreaking loss of his son, Cailen, three years ago, during a construction worker memorial in Vancouver on Tuesday.
“He will forever be 23, he was tragically killed on July 12, 2021, when the tower crane he and his crew were dismantling collapsed,” said Vilness.
Cailen Vilness was one of five men killed at a Mission Group construction site when a crane collapsed onto a building in downtown Kelowna.
His father spoke at a Vancouver memorial questioning why families of the victims still have no answers.
“Three-and-a-half years later we don’t know how, we don’t know who is responsible. When are we going to get answers?” said Vilness.
Politicians, WorkSafe BC, and the BC labour force were in attendance on Tuesday.
“There’s people here in this crowd that can push the timeline for us to get answers,” said Vilness.
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In a statement, WorkSafe BC said, “It will not be releasing its incident investigation report into the Kelowna crane collapse, at this time, to ensure it does not affect the charge assessment process.”
Back in February, Kelowna RCMP recommended charges of criminal negligence causing death and BC Prosecutions confirmed Wednesday that the file continues to be under charge assessment.
Since the incident happened, WorkSafeBC began recommending changes to improve crane safety across the province.
“You think about the loss of just that one life. It’s a call for us to continue to work together, to recognize that safety is not negotiable,” said Premier David Eby.
WorkSafeBC confirmed 142 work-related deaths by November 2024. Of those, construction workers accounted for 24.
“There’s enough death, so let’s start to take workplace safety seriously, please,” said Vilness.
