Two years after a man fell to his death at a north Edmonton construction site, workplace safety charges have been laid in his death.

Jeremy Bird, a 32-year-old father of four, was fatally injured on April 14, 2024, while working at a residential apartment complex under construction on 137th Avenue and Castle Downs Road.

Bird was working on the sixth floor of the building when a wall came down, striking Bird and causing him to fall to the ground. 

Charges laid on March 10 against two companies — Dre-Max Construction Inc. and Sixth Avenue Arbutus  Management Corp. — include a string of alleged workplace safety violations under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act. 

Dre-Max Construction Inc., a framing contractor based in Spruce Grove, Alta., is facing 16 charges including failing to ensure its workers were adequately trained and supervised while installing floors and exterior walls, as well as failing to enforce appropriate safety measures, including personal protective equipment and guardrails. 

Vancouver-based Sixth Avenue Arbutus Management Corp., a Vancouver-based real estate company, faces six charges including failing to enforce fall protection protection plans and failing to ensure safe procedures were in place for working at heights. 

Montana Eve-Marie Lamouche, a former partner of Bird and mother of one of his children, told CBC News Wednesday that she was relieved to learn that charges had been laid in his death.

She had met Bird through friends about six years ago and often went to visit his family on the Paul First Nation, west of Edmonton.

They dated for more than a year before they learned they had a baby on the way. 

‘A really big heart’

She said Bird had struggled with addiction and substance abuse issues but had been clean for more than a year and had been trying to turn his life around.

Having landed steady work in construction, Bird was hoping to step up as a father and inspire others to find sobriety, she said.

“He had a really big heart and he cared a lot about his family,” she said. 

“And his dream, one of his goals, was to remain sober…. I was really proud of him when I heard that.” 

Lamouche said Bird was looking to build a stronger relationship with their daughter, now five.

“It’s been hard for me to move on knowing my daughter will never see her father again. They were just getting to know each other,” Lamouche said. 

In a brief emailed statement to CBC Thursday, a legal representative for Sixth Avenue Arbutus said the company’s thoughts remain with Bird and his loved ones but declined further comment, citing the ongoing court case. Dre-Max Construction Inc. has not responded to requests for comment. 

The companies are due in the Edmonton Court of Justice for a first appearance April 24.