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Five years after a tower crane collapsed in downtown Kelowna and killed five men, their families say the passage of time has brought neither answers nor justice.
Cailen Vilness, 23; Jared Zook, 32; brothers Eric Stemmer, 28, and Patrick Stemmer, 32; and Brad Zawislak, 43, died on July 12, 2021, when the crane suffered a catastrophic failure while it was being dismantled at the Bernard Block construction site.
Vilness, Zook and the Stemmer brothers were working at the construction site. Zawislak was working in a neighbouring office building when the falling crane crushed part of it.
The collapse was one of the deadliest workplace incidents in British Columbia’s history. On Sunday, families, friends and members of the construction and crane industries gathered in Kelowna to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster.
“I know when the tragedy happened that all of the crane operators pointed their mast towards Kelowna and sounded their horns,” one person attending the memorial said.
The gesture was repeated as the industry again honoured those killed.
Chris Vilness, Cailen’s father, said the loss has not become easier with time.
“It never really gets easier,” he said. “I think this is a tragedy that rocked the city of Kelowna, and rocked the construction industry.”
The men are remembered at the RISE Memorial Gardens at Knowles Heritage Park. Four stone beds represent the four construction workers killed at the site, while the memorial as a whole honours all five victims.
A memorial motorcycle ride travelled from Hope to Kelowna on Sunday, ending at the garden with the unveiling of a new tribute bench.
For the families, however, the gathering was about more than remembrance.
They say they are still waiting to learn exactly what caused the crane to collapse and whether anyone will be held criminally responsible.
“The last five years have been torture, honestly,” said Danielle Pritchett, Cailen’s mother. “There’s a wound that’s open that isn’t going to close and begin to heal until the answers come out.”
Kelowna RCMP submitted a report to the BC Prosecution Service in February 2024 recommending charges of criminal negligence causing death.
Police have not publicly identified the individuals or companies against whom charges were recommended.
Nearly two and a half years after the police report was submitted, no charges have been approved.
The BC Prosecution Service is responsible for independently assessing whether the available evidence meets its charge-approval standard.
The results of the RCMP investigation have not been made public. WorkSafeBC completed its separate investigation in May 2023, but those findings also remain sealed while the criminal charge assessment continues.
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The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115 says the continued delay amounts to a failure of the justice system.
“It’s been far too long and there are still a lot of families that still don’t have a lot of answers and they still don’t have justice for what happened,” said Bryan Railton, the union’s business manager.
The union has launched a letter-writing campaign calling on the prosecution service to make an immediate decision.
“The families have waited long enough,” Railton said in a statement. “Justice delayed is justice denied. At this point, a five-year delay seems like a complete failure of the system.”
IUOE Local 115 is also asking Attorney General Niki Sharma to use any powers available to her to help move the matter forward. The union represents more than 14,000 members, including crane and heavy-equipment operators, mechanics, road builders and other workers in high-risk industries.
Global News asked the Attorney General’s Ministry whether charges are being pursued and whether the minister could intervene.
“Charge assessment decisions are made independently by the BC Prosecution Service,” the ministry said in a statement.
That independence means the attorney general does not ordinarily direct prosecutors on whether charges should be approved in an individual case.
The union’s campaign is asking members of the public to write to the attorney general and demand a timely resolution from the prosecution service.
The anniversary comes as the province moves ahead with changes intended to improve crane safety.
B.C. has announced that tower and mobile crane operators will be brought under the province’s skilled-trades certification system. Operators will have a transition period to register as apprentices or qualify as journeypersons before the new certification requirement takes effect in July 2027.
Crane operators in B.C. have already been required to hold certification acceptable to WorkSafeBC. The new skilled-trades designation is intended to create more consistent training and qualification requirements across the industry.
The province is also developing a WorkSafeBC licensing and permitting program for companies and others responsible for crane work.
Under the current system, crane operators must be certified and registered, but companies and people responsible for owning, maintaining, repairing, erecting, dismantling or otherwise overseeing cranes have not been subject to the same licensing requirements.
The province announced the new licensing and permitting initiative in March, saying it was designed to close that oversight gap. It followed recommendations from a Crane Safety Table made up of industry, labour, regulatory and technical representatives.
Family representatives say company licensing will be one of the most important changes.
“The biggest one will be licensing for companies, in terms of crane companies maintaining a licence, having to meet certain obligations to just have it and revoking a licence if they’re not committed to doing these things safely,” said Kely Hutchinson of the RISE Memorial Foundation.
Railton said operator certification and the proposed licensing system are significant steps, but more work remains.
The union has argued that oversight must apply not only to the person sitting in the crane cab, but also to the employers and contractors responsible for crane assembly, maintenance, dismantling and workplace safety.
The province says seven people have died in crane-related incidents in B.C. over the past five years. It says the number of active tower cranes in the province rose from 261 in 2021 to a five-year high of 409 in 2024. There are currently about 373 operating across B.C.
The collapse has also led to multiple civil lawsuits.
Stemmer Construction, the company involved in operating the crane, launched legal action against crane manufacturer Liebherr, alleging negligence.
Other lawsuits have been filed against Stemmer Construction and companies involved in the Bernard Block project.
Zawislak’s widow filed a civil claim alleging negligence against Stemmer Construction and other defendants. Nearby residents, property owners and businesses affected by the collapse have also pursued legal action.
Widows of three of the construction workers have separately alleged that a defect involving the crane contributed to the collapse.
The allegations in the civil actions have not been proven in court. The companies involved have denied wrongdoing.
The civil claims are separate from the criminal charge assessment now before the BC Prosecution Service.
For relatives of the five men, the push for answers is inseparable from the effort to prevent another fatal collapse.
Vilness said he hopes the tragedy leads to lasting changes in how cranes are operated and overseen.
“I just hope there’s enough focus and attention on safety that there’s not another group of families that has to build a memorial,” he said, “and have to relive this every five years and every day forward.”
Sunday’s ceremony ended with another permanent tribute added to the memorial garden.
But five years after the collapse, the families say memorials cannot substitute for knowing what happened, receiving a decision from prosecutors and ensuring the same kind of disaster is never repeated.
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