CHILLIWACK, B.C. — A taxi driver in Chilliwack, B.C. has escaped injury after he was attacked in the early morning hours of Jan. 6. At about 5 a.m., members of the Chilliwack RCMP detachment were called to the 45000 Block of Wolfe Road following a complaint of a robbery, the RCMP’s Upper Fraser Regional Valley Detachment said in a press release. After stopping on Wolfe Road, one passenger allegedly pointed a gun at the taxi driver and demanded all of his money. The driver exited the taxi and ran away as another suspect allegedly attempted to spray him with pepper spray, the release said. The driver was not injured and police continue to investigate.
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P.E.I. WCB reminds outdoor workers to protect against cold stress
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island (WCB) is reminding workers, especially outdoor workers, to protect themselves from cold stress during the extreme winter weather. “Risk factors for cold stress include temperature, humidity, wind chill, fatigue, dehydration and lack of acclimatization,” said Bill Reid, the WCB’s director of occupational health and safety, in a statement. “Adequate precautions can help prevent injuries caused by frostbite and hypothermia.” Among other suggestions, the WCB recommends that workers wear layered clothing with a wind-resistant outer layer; set up shelters to block wind where possible; take breaks in heated buildings; drink plenty of warm fluids; and cover metal handles and bars with insulating materials. For more information, visit http://www.wcb.pe.ca/DocumentManagement/Document/pub_guidetocoldstressatwork.pdf.
WorkSafeNB launches “It’s Your Job” student video contest
SAINT JOHN, N.B. — WorkSafeNB, in co-operation with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, has begun hosting the “It’s Your Job” student video contest, challenging high school students in the province to create a two-minute, original video that illustrates the importance of working safely. Winners of the New Brunswick video contest will be automatically entered into the national “It’s Your Job” student video contest to compete against high school winners from across the country and be viewed by Canadians coast-to-coast during voting in May 2015, WorkSafeNB said in a statement. For contest rules and entry forms, visit www.youthsafenb.ca/en/nomercy/its_your_job.aspx. The deadline for entries is April 10.
Inquest into miner deaths announced
SUDBURY, Ont. — Dr. Reuven Jhirad, deputy chief coroner of the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, announced on Jan. 6 that an inquest would be held into the deaths of two miners in 2011. Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, died on June 9, 2011 after they were buried by a run of muck at Vale’s Stobie Mine in Sudbury. A statement from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services said that the inquest was set to begin on April 20 and last 10 days. As usual, the inquest jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths from occurring.
Man arrested after assault on police officer
TORONTO, Ont. — The Toronto Police Service (TPS) announced on Jan. 5 that it had arrested a man in connection with an assault on an officer. At about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 23, plainclothes officers were investigating the recently reported theft of a vehicle, the TPS said in a statement. The officers allegedly approached a vehicle parked at an apartment building, and the passenger surrendered to officers without incident. Police alleged the driver had struck one of the officers with the vehicle while fleeing, causing non-life-threatening injuries. Kirisanth Pathmanathan, 24, was arrested on Jan. 3 and charged with 13 counts, including assault on a peace officer, assault with intent to resist arrest, dangerous driving, failing to comply with probation and two counts of theft under $5,000.
Safety Services Manitoba hosts SAFE Work Conference
Safety Services Manitoba will be hosting its SAFE Work Conference at the Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre in Winnipeg on Jan. 21 and 22. The conference will feature over 550 delegates, 28 workshop presentations and 40 trade show exhibitors. Topics include fall protection awareness, creating an inclusive and effective labour market, communicating with difficult people and distracted driving. For more information, visit http://www.safetyservicesmanitoba.ca/safework2015/.
Safety culture conference announced
The Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health (SASWH) will be hosting Engagement = A Strong Safety Culture in Saskatoon on March 25. The one day conference and SASWH annual general meeting will be held in galleries C and D at TCU Place. The conference, intended for healthcare workers and employers, will feature Jan Wachter, CSP, CIH and associate professor in the Department of Safety Sciences at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania as the keynote speaker. He will discuss “harnessing worker and employer engagement in workplace safety.” Michael Kerr, known as the “Workplace Energizer,” will be the closing speaker. For more information, visit www.saswh.ca. To register, visit https://s235.z2systems.com/np/clients/s235/eventRegistration.jsp?event=1&.
Police association calls for full workers’ compensation for officers
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association (RNCA), which represents police officers in the province, is calling for changes to workplace health and safety legislation to allow full compensation for injured officers.
Currently, officers receive 80 per cent of their pre-injury net earnings, to a maximum gross of $61,615 as of Jan. 1, according to Vanessa Colman-Sadd, director of communications with Service NL, but the RNCA wants that increased to 100 per cent.
Colman-Sadd said that the department had recently gone through a statutory review process for Newfoundland and Labrador’s compensation system, during which the RNCA had made their request for full coverage for officers injured in the course of their duties. However, the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission’s Statutory Review Committee did not make that recommendation to government in its final report, Colman-Sadd said.
“There is no province in Canada [that] provides a wage-loss benefit of 100 per cent of pre-injury net earning exclusively to police officers,” she noted. “There are six provinces [that] allow employers to top up, though, for all injured workers,” she added, stressing that RCMP officers are covered federally and that the compensation issue applies only to Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers.
Colman-Sadd noted that changing legislation to allow for full compensation or top-ups “would result in significant costs to employers and the workers’ compensation system, whether that’s for RNC or all injured workers. As well, any changes made to the workers’ compensation system must take a balanced approach, considering the needs of workers and employers.”
Doug Cadigan, president of the St. John’s Fire Fighters Association, said that the association “fully supports” the RNCA’s position. He said that he believes that emergency responders who are injured in the course of their duties while responding to or at an emergency should receive 100 per cent of their salary while recovering. “We think emergency responders are unique in that unlike all other workers in the province, once we begin responding to an emergency, we no longer have control of our workplace.”
Cadigan noted that while it is the responsibility of employers to ensure workers have a safe environment, it has been proven in the past that “this cannot be accomplished” at a fire or other emergency.
N.S. offshore oil and gas workers covered under one set of oh&s rules
Offshore oil and gas workers in Nova Scotia are now covered under one set of occupational health and safety rules.
Amendments to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation (Nova Scotia) Act came into effect on Dec. 31. Among other changes, the amendments: add a new oh&s section to the act; clarify the roles and responsibilities of governments, regulators, employers and employees; and assign authority for oh&s officers to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board. Mirror amendments were adopted federally in the Offshore Health and Safety Act and in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Nova Scotia’s offshore is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Atlantic Canada and represents huge potential for our province,” said Nova Scotia Energy Minister Andrew Younger in a joint press release from the provincial Department of Energy and Department of Labour and Advanced Education. “These changes complement the work already underway to promote workplace safety in every industry across Nova Scotia, to ensure all workers, whether on land or sea, return home safely at the end of each day.”
The press release added that the amendments apply to all offshore petroleum activities in the province. They also “support an occupational health and safety culture that recognizes shared responsibilities in the workplace”; provide joint management of oh&s by federal and provincial governments; ensure that oh&s applies to workers in transit to, from or between offshore platforms; and add new provincial oversight to the Department of Labour and Advanced Education for offshore oh&s.
Tony Cornect, Minister of Service NL, said that the amendments were tailored to the offshore working environment and incorporated fundamental oh&s principles, including a worker’s right to refusal, right to know and reprisal protection for raising health and safety concerns.
Canada’s offshore petroleum production accounts for 25 per cent of light crude output, or six per cent of Canada’s annual total crude output, according to Natural Resources Canada.
Engagement, leadership identified as significant challenges in 2015
Morneau Shepell, Canada’s largest administrator of retirement and benefits plans and the country’s largest provider of integrated absence management solutions, has identified employee engagement and leadership as the most significant challenges to workforce productivity in 2015.
Morneau Shepell’s 60-Second Survey for December was completed by 442 Canadian human resources professionals. It found that 43 per cent of respondents cited employee engagement as the major impediment to higher productivity and about one in five (22 per cent) named leadership as a significant challenge to productivity.
Nathan Gibson, manager of corporate communications with Morneau Shepell, told COHSN that the survey did not provide a specific definition of employee engagement or leadership, as those were left to the interpretation of the respondent. “The challenge that employers face is in knowing how to address these issues effectively in order to increase productivity,” added Stephen Lintrap, executive vice-president with Morneau Shepell, in a press release on Jan. 5.
According to Gibson, the survey also found that mental health was rated “significantly more often than physical health as a challenge to workplace productivity and as a priority for 2015.” In addition, the best indicator of an organization’s 2015 priority was 2014’s biggest challenge. For example, if the organization indicated that engagement was a major challenge, the majority of those respondents identified engagement as their 2015 priority. “In other words, organizational decision makers are focusing their attention on the issues that challenge them the most,” Gibson said.
Lintrap said that the key to maximizing employee engagement and productivity was to start with a solid foundation. “Ensuring that your workplace is healthy before embarking on other initiatives to drive engagement and increase productivity is essential,” he said in the release. “Otherwise, you run the risk of having employees who are highly productive for a while, but eventually burn out. This leads to job dissatisfaction, increased turnover and disability.”
He also noted the importance of mental health in the workplace, noting that almost five times as many survey respondents planned to focus on workplace mental health over physical health in 2015. “Employees aren’t going to be interested in helping the organization achieve goals if they’re too stressed or depressed to come to work,” he said.
Lintrap recommended that organizations reduce the stigma of mental illness by building awareness and educating leaders, managers and co-workers around mental health triggers and treatment. Second, they should ensure that support services, such as employee and family assistance programs that integrate with other benefit plans, are in place to help employees with personal and professional stress, as well as mental health conditions. “Once you have a healthy workplace, then you’ve created the foundation necessary for higher employee engagement and increased productivity,” he said.