Roadside memorials should eventually be removed, says Yukon paramedic
'With respect to the families, I just don't want the memories of reliving calls,' says Jonathan Trefry
A Whitehorse paramedic and teacher of a mental health course for first responders has a request, which he admits is a difficult topic to raise.
He says roadside memorials such as flowers, stuffed animals and sometimes names of victims left by roadsides should eventually be removed.
Jonathan Trefry has been working with the Whitehorse ambulance service for 35 years. He's also been an auxiliary RCMP officer and a volunteer firefighter.
In that time, he's responded to countless roadside calls, some of them fatal.
"These are not happy memories for us to be reminded of," he said. "I was at work, I had a job to do and I did it to the best of my abilities and scope of practice. And it wasn't enough to save that individual's life in that situation."
Trefry says he doesn't want to disrespect or offend grieving families.
However, he says markers do have an effect on first responders.
This is no insult and I don't want it to be taken the wrong way. When I drive through, for me, [markers] are reminders of calls in the past that I do not want to remember or relive.-Jonathan Trefry, paramedic and teacher of Working Minds course
"This is no insult and I don't want it to be taken the wrong way. When I drive through, for me, [markers] are reminders of calls in the past that I do not want to remember or relive. I wouldn't say they're a trigger, but they're a strong reminder," he said.
Trefry thinks removing memorials would help paramedics, police officers, firefighters and also electrical crews and other workers who attend scenes and see these markers daily in Whitehorse.
"I understand the memorial part of it, but I would like to see them taken down after a certain time. So that people like myself don't have to drive through one, or two, or three, that I've personally been involved with, as a reminder, when I drive around. I would just like to see something in place where they don't stay in place forever," he said.
'It's been eye-opening to learn about mental health'
Trefry is an instructor with a program called The Working Mind, which has been offered in Yukon about a year.
The program seeks to promote mental health for emergency workers and reduce the stigma around mental illness in the workplace.
He said it has been eye-opening to learn about mental health and think back on his own career.
"The repetitiveness of doing these calls year after year does take a toll on first responders, and I would like to change that in a small way," he said.
Memorials don't improve road safety: research
One argument for roadside memorials is that they improve road safety by encouraging people to slow down.
However, what little research there has been on the topic casts doubt on whether that's the case.
A New Zealand study published in 2019 in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications found no measurable change in drivers' behaviour upon seeing a memorial.
A summary of the research from Dr. Vanessa Beanland and Dr. Rachael A. Wynne of the University of Otago in New Zealand concluded that memorials "do not necessarily have a large or meaningful impact on safety-related behaviours, despite the fact that many drivers believe that memorials can improve safety."
Unenforced rules state 'memorials should be temporary'
Other parts of Canada, like Alberta, Manitoba and B.C. have rules stating memorials cannot be permanent though regulations don't specify a time.
The same rules are written in Yukon but do not seem to be enforced.
Yukon's department of Highways and Public Works confirmed by email that rules established in 2011 state that "memorials should be temporary" in the territory, but the department acknowledges some have been left indefinitely if they don't impede traffic.
Trefry says he is raising the issue now because the trend seems to be increasing, with more memorials established in Whitehorse.
Trefry hasn't approached his MLA or the City of Whitehorse with the idea to take any down.
He said he wanted to speak with media to see what the public response would be.