The construction industry in British Columbia has finalized the amalgamation of two of its construction safety associations, converging into one umbrella organization that will serve the province’s entire construction industry.

As office employees rushed to their work on a freezing Friday morning last December, the steel cables of a derrick crane some 200 meters above the streets swayed violently to gale force winds that whipped through the narrow glass and concrete canyons of downtown Toronto’s business district.

In moments, the buffeting winds slam the cables into four panes of plate glass between the 30th and 40th floors of the 51-storey Bay-Adelaide Centre that was under construction. Deadly shards of glass came crashing to the pavement below. The impact sent debris skidding through the busy streets and sidewalks as far as a block away.

Luckily no one was hurt. However, the incident highlights the need for jobsites to be made safe not only for the work crew but for members of the general public as well.

Alberta’s construction industry has the highest number of workplace fatality over the last 10 years, according to latest statistics from the province’s Ministry of Employment and Immigration.