Having their father recognized by the Corner Brook and District Labour Council for this year’s National Day of Mourning is bittersweet for Howard Lavers’ childrenPublished Apr 28, 2025 • 6 minute readHoward Lavers died while working as a fish and wildlife officer on the Northern Peninsula on Feb. 21, 2013. He is one of the people who will be recognized during the Corner Brook and District Labour Council’s Day of Mourning wreath-laying ceremony on Monday, April 28, 2025. CONTRIBUTEDHoward Lavers was on patrol with two other fish and wildlife officers in the Hawke’s Bay area in 2013 when the snowmobile he was on crashed through the ice as they travelled across Eastern Blue Pond.His co-workers from the Department of Justice and Public Safety were able to make it to shore, but the 57-year-old from Port Saunders did not.Howard is one of three people who will be recognized this year during the Corner Brook and District Labour Council’s Day of Mourning wreath-laying ceremony at the Holy Redeemer Cathedral on Mount Bernard Avenue on Monday, April 28, at 2 p.m.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentThe Day of Mourning is a national initiative that recognizes workers who have been killed or injured on the job.His name, along with those of Richard G. Fitzpatrick and Richard Dennis, will also be added to the council’s monument on Mill Road.Having their father recognized by the labour council for this year’s National Day of Mourning is bittersweet, says his daughter, Christina Lavers. Howard Lavers’s family feels honoured that he will be recognized by the Corner Brook and District Labour Council at its Day of Mourning wreath-laying ceremony on Monday, April 28, 2025. From left are his children: Jeremy Lavers, Christina Lavers and Michael Lavers, and granddaughter Jo Lavers. CONTRIBUTEDA family manChristina, who lives in Gander, told The Telegram that her dad and his co-workers had stopped for lunch at his cabin on the pond before going on patrol.“It just happened that day that the same tracks that they’ve travelled in the past, like a week before, they went across the same tracks and his Skidoo broke through the ice. They tried to get him out, but they were just unsuccessful,” she said.Article contentHer father is well-known for the work he did, but to her, he was more than that.“He was such a caring, loving family man. He was very stern, but he was also very soft-hearted. To me, as the baby girl, he was just a big teddy bear,” she said.“He loved his job somewhat, and outdoors and the cabin he loved that.”Dream jobHoward Lavers worked for the province for 30 years, starting as a forestry firefighter. His son, Mike Lavers, said his dad moved up the ladder, later becoming a conservation wildlife officer and then a fish and wildlife enforcement officer.Mike said from talking to his father’s co-workers that it was his dream job to work as a fish and wildlife officer.Mike, who now lives in Deer Lake, left home at an early age to join the military. While growing up, his father worked a lot, but when Mike came back from the military, he got to spend a lot more time with his dad.Article content“He was just a very straightforward person. Very highly, well respected,” he said.“Even a lot of his enemies, when he passed away — a lot of enemies, guys he’d charged in the past and had a lot of run-ins with in the past — came out and paid their respects just to show what kind of character he had,” said Mike.Lack of workplace safetyWhile his dad loved his job, Mike said there were things about it that he didn’t like so much.“He complained a lot about money, just the funding they were provided. They always seemed like they were short-staffed, short equipment, and were just made to do the job with what they had available to do it,” he said.Today, there is more of an emphasis put on workplace safety, Christina said, but it wasn’t that way in the past.Article content“Before he passed away, there was no actual safety equipment. Now they all have special suits for travelling on ice and special protocol. In the past, before his death, there was nothing in place,” she said.“Occupational Health and Safety and Workplace NL actually sued the provincial government because of his death, and that changed a lot of the policies and ice-checking procedures that are now in place,” Mike added.Knowing those changes occurred doesn’t help with the loss.“Honestly, it pisses me off,” said Christina.“He knew that country like the back of his hand. He had a cabin on that exact same pond. He worked the exact same tracks for 30-plus years, and all of sudden, just one day, gone,” she said. Howard Lavers has been previously honoured by the Canadian Police and Peace Officers Memorial in Ottawa. From left are Michael Lavers, his co-worker Baine Pilgrim, Christina Lavers and Jeremy Lavers. CONTRIBUTEDLatest recognitionArticle contentChristina believes having her father recognized by the labour council came about because of his co-workers.She was contacted by Jim O’Neill, ceremony chair for the council, and admits it took her a bit to get up the courage to reply.Mike will represent the family at the ceremony. Christina and their brother, Jeremy Lavers, are unable to attend due to work commitments.“It’s kind of bittersweet, I guess, because he passed away in 2013 and it’s gained a lot of attention over the years, so sometimes we just want to put this at rest,” said Mike.“Me, personally, I have that feeling of sometimes just want to be at rest, but then the other side of the coin is we’re very honoured that his name is going in so many different places.”Article contentThat includes a plaque in North Dakota and the honour roll for the Canadian Police and Peace Officers Memorial. He’s also been recognized by the Police & Peace Officers’ Memorial Ribbon Society and through an award for wildlife conservation students at Holland College.“While it does keep popping up and it sometimes opens up old wounds, it’s very honouring as well,” said Mike.Christina feels the same way.“It is nice to see, and to me, it’s very respectful, but it just opens up a whole bunch of new wounds, old wounds,” she said.“For the first four years, we were just watching them battle in court, so we couldn’t actually sit down and grieve. And then we had all the ceremonies … It is nice to see, it really is very respectful, I think.”Article contentRead More Responsibility accepted Loved ones remembered at Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial ‘Everyone deserves to work safely’In the past five years, 124 workers in this province have lost their lives either from workplace illness or injury.According to Workplace NL statistics, 26 of those deaths occurred in 2024.“That’s 11 more than the previous year,” said Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL) president Jessica McCormick in a press release.“Behind these numbers are real people and the families, friends, and co-workers who are left to grieve their loss,” said McCormick.On the Day of Mourning and every day, McCormick said the NLFL reaffirms its commitment to fighting for strong, enforceable safety laws, healthy workplaces and accountability for employers and governments.Article content“Because even one workplace death is one too many,” said McCormick.“Everyone deserves to work safely and return home at the end of their shift. Governments must do more to make that a reality.”As part of its efforts the NLFL continues to call for:Employers to ensure safe workplaces;Government to implement effective prevention strategies, strong laws, and to ensure those laws are enforced;An increase in the number of Occupational Health and Safety Investigators in the province;Transparency in health and safety records. The health and safety records of employers in this province are kept out of the public eye. Yet, Ontario’s “Safety Check”, for example, allows the public to check the safety records of businesses;The enforcement of the Westray Act to hold employers criminally accountable in the death or serious injury of workers due to negligence; andThe establishment of an Occupational Health Clinic to help both employers and workers manage, prevent, and respond to occupational illnesses.Article contentBesides Corner Brook, Day of Mourning ceremonies will also be held in St. John’s, Grand Falls-Windsor and Labrador City on Monday, April 28. Names of people who have lost their lives in workplace accidents are engraved on the Corner Brook and District Labour Council’s monument on Mill Road in Corner Brook. Diane Crocker/THE TELEGRAMDay of Mourning ceremoniesMonday April 28St. John’sSt. John’s and District Labour CouncilDay of Mourning CeremonyConfederation Building, 100 Prince Philip Drive, at noonCorner BrookCorner Brook and District Labour CouncilDay of Mourning Wreath Laying CeremonyHoly Redeemer Cathedral, 15 Mt. Bernard Ave., 2 p.m.Ceremony will also be live-streamed by Fillatre’s Funeral Home, https://fillatre.ca/Labrador CityLabrador West and District Labour CouncilDay of Mourning Wreath Laying Ceremony5795 USW Union Hall, 105 Hudson Dr., at 2 p.m.Grand Falls-WindsorGrand Falls-Windsor Day of Mourning CommitteeDay of Mourning Wreath Laying CeremonyGrand Falls Windsor Injured Workers Memorial, Lincoln Road, at noonArticle content
Howard Lavers died while on patrol in 2013
