A 60-year-old Squamish man is dead following a tragic forestry accident at mile 41 of the Elaho Logging Road on Thursday (June 21), in the second logging industry death in the corridor in the last three months.
Forestry worker Bryan Valleau was working on the exterior of his logging truck trailer, when his own vehicle rolled and ran over him, said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dave Ritchie.
Emergency services were notified at 1:30 p.m. and RCMP and ambulance services were dispatched. Valleau, who had worked in the industry for 35 years, succumbed to his injuries at the scene. It is not known at this time what caused the vehicle to roll.A memorial service for Valleau will be held today (June 29) at the Sea to Sky Hotel at 1 p.m.
Both RCMP and Jan MacFayden of the B.C. Coroners Service are investigating the incident, with the assistance of Tom Pawlowski, a resource industry coroner specializing in forestry-related deaths. The specialist will try to identify common factors between Valleau's death and other forestry sector fatalities, and what preventative measures could be taken in the future.
On April 27, another work-related fatality occurred when Pemberton forestry worker Davey Valleau (no relation to Bryan Valleau) and the pick-up truck he was driving were found at the bottom of a forest service road embankment near Pemberton. He had been reported missing after failing to return following a snow assessment along the forest service road. He was also pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the independent industry watchdog, B.C. Forest Safety Council (BCFCS), the frequency of forestry related injuries is increasing, particularly in the trucking sector.
"A lot of truckers who are hurt or killed are actually killed outside their truck," said Mary Anne Arcand, director of Forestry Truck Safe for the BCFCS. According to Arcand, there have been nine fatalities in B.C in the last two years involving truck drivers.
"Most of them happen within six months of starting either with a new company, changing trucks or moving into a different work site."
Local labour advocates feel that provincial regulations are also a factor.
"These problems go back to 2001 when the government began the deregulation of health and safety rules in the industry," said Sandy Bauer of Squamish and District Labour Committee.
"They allowed employers to self regulate. The regulations are now open to interpretation so they're difficult to enforce," said Bauer. "I think for a lot of employers they want to be effective on this, but there's a lack of direction for them to follow. They do the best they can but the government hasn't given them any prescriptive rules."
WorkSafe B.C. is implementing new training guidelines for truck and crane operators that go into effect on July 1.
The change comes following a provincial government report on forest industry safety practices that rose concerns over logging truck standards.
