Liam Johnston died on the job at 27. His loved ones want to see change and accountability

Emily Gofton can’t forget the morning that changed her life in June 2023.

“When I got the call, I knew immediately … that gut feeling,” the 24-year-old recalls.

The voice on the other end of the phone said her boyfriend Liam Johnston, 27, a plumbing apprentice, had been buried in a trench collapse while working on a sewer job at a Calgary home.

She rushed to the scene, but never saw Liam alive again. Experts say he likely died within minutes under the weight of earth and concrete blocks and it took nine hours for firefighters to recover his body.

Johnston was one of about 350 Canadians who die every year from a traumatic injury suffered at work, based on newest reports from the University of Regina .

Emily Gofton's life changed the day she found out her boyfriend died whi