Yellowknife (Oct 29/04) - On the central panel of the LifeQuilt, thousands of organza ribbons are printed with the names of young Canadians who were injured at work.

One hundred squares commemorate 100 young people who were killed on the job.

Mary Lou Cherwaty and Allyson Stroeder examine the LifeQuilt at its unveiling in Yellowknife. - Joyce MacDonald/NNSL photo

The LifeQuilt is a project of the Worker's Compensation Board. It is travelling across Canada to raise awareness about the importance of workplace safety.

The quilt arrived in Yellowknife on Oct. 22 and was hung in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly. Each panel shows a picture and a short biography of each young person.

Three panels on the quilt represent people with a Northern connection.

Jason Stewart of Fort McPherson was killed at the age of 23 in a seismic rig accident in Inuvik. Peter Barnabas, a 24-year-old hunter from Arctic Bay, Nunavut, died when a pile of snow blocks fell on him. Michael Daniska, a 22-year-old from B.C., was killed in a helicopter during his summer job in Nunavut.

Relatives of all three men came to see the quilt unveiled.

"When we first saw the LifeQuilt this morning, it was an emotional time for us," said Jamie Clease, Jason Stewart's partner.

If the quilt helps people pay more attention to safety standards in the workplace, then it helps the families that have lost someone, Clease said.

"These men did not die in vain," she said.

The panels for the two Northern men were made by local quilter Sandy Shannon.

Rita Denneron did the beadwork on Jason Stewart's panel in honour of his Dene heritage. She chose to do a rose, without knowing that his mother had chosen this message for the panel: "I'll miss the roses you gave me on special days."