Five families share stories of workplace loss to protect young workers, backed by court-ordered safety funding from a deadly 2022 explosion
Five families from across Alberta have agreed to share their most painful experiences on camera. Their hope is simple: that no other family has to live through the same thing. The videos are part of a new awareness series produced with support from Threads of Life — the Association for Workplace Tragedy Family Support.
The national registered charity is based in London, Ontario. Each film tells the story of a work-related fatality or injury. Several focus specifically on young workers, and the series has been distributed to schools, colleges, and youth employment agencies across the province. For safety coordinators seeking tools that go beyond compliance training, the series offers something harder to replicate: testimony from people who lived through the consequences.
How a young worker safety tragedy in Alberta funded the series
The project was made possible by funding tied to a 2022 tragedy. On Nov. 12, 2022, Greg Podulsky, 29, and Darcy Schwindt, 47, were welding on top of a tank at an oil and gas site near Slave Lake. The site is located north of Edmonton. Investigators found the tank had not been purged or readied for hot work before welding began. It exploded, killing both men instantly.
On April 30, 2025, Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. and Peace Pipefitting Inc. each pleaded guilty to separate counts under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Tamarack Valley was fined $25,000 and ordered to pay a further $475,000 through creative sentencing. Of that amount, $100,000 was directed to Threads of Life for young worker safety awareness, high school presentations, and family forums in Alberta.
Peace Pipefitting was fined $20,000 and ordered to pay an additional $30,000 to Threads of Life for the same program.
That court-ordered contribution helped fund the five-video series now reaching young Canadians before they ever set foot on a hazardous worksite.
Why families are driving young worker safety in Canada
Charlene Nahamko, Podulsky’s mother, is now a Threads of Life member and volunteer. Her story is among the five featured in the series. Nahamko has spoken publicly about her son’s death and what it has cost her family. It is a decision rooted in a conviction shared across the Threads of Life community.
“Threads of Life members often say, if we can prevent even one family from going through what we’ve had to experience, then the pain of sharing our story is worth it,” said Eugene Gutierrez, executive director of Threads of Life. He made the remarks in a statement accompanying the series release.
Founded in 2003, Threads of Life was created to fill a gap that formal systems left open. When a workplace tragedy occurred, families had no voice in the investigation or legal process and no peer support available. Its model pairs affected families with trained volunteer guides — fellow survivors — to address the long, private grief that follows.
What can safety professionals do with this resource?
The Alberta series represents one way the legal system can drive prevention beyond a fine. Safety professionals looking to understand how court-ordered creative sentencing advances OHS culture in Canada will find the Podulsky-Schwindt case informative. The funds went not only to organisations that train workers, but to one that supports families when the system fails them.
On any given workday in Canada, three people die from a job-related fatality, life-altering injury or occupational disease, according to Threads of Life. Those numbers underscore why organisations like Threads of Life remain essential. Regulators and employers can investigate and fine, but the human aftermath of a workplace death falls beyond their reach.
The five videos are available on Threads of Life’s YouTube channel. Organisations wishing to use them in classrooms, conferences, or safety meetings can contact Threads of Life at [email protected] or visit threadsoflife.ca.
For safety coordinators building young worker onboarding programs, the series offers a concrete starting point for conversations about hazard awareness. It was developed specifically for Canadian workplaces and classrooms by the families who know that cost firsthand.
