Category Archives: Legislation

Fall at construction site claims life of worker, 33

A 33-year-old construction worker from Prince Edward Island has died after he fell off a roof in Calgary on July 24.

A spokesperson with the Calgary Police Service (CPS) said that police had been called to a construction site on Mahogany Mews SE at about 3:20 p.m. that day, following reports of a male worker falling off a roof of a four-storey building.

“He was confirmed deceased at the scene by EMS,” the spokesperson added. After the CPS determined that the death had been accidental, “we notified a medical examiner and Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta, and they’re now handling the investigation.”

Shirley Lyn, public-affairs officer for the Alberta Ministry of Labour, confirmed that the Ministry’s oh&s department was investigating the incident, but could not provide further details.

It was unclear at press time whether the victim was using fall-protection equipment at the time of the accident. “That’s part of the investigation,” said Lyn.

The victim was later publicly identified as Tyler Wallace MacDonald, who was originally from Georgetown, P.E.I. According to his obituary on the website for Ferguson-Logan Montague Funeral Home in Montague, P.E.I., MacDonald left behind his girlfriend Cara Butler, his parents, two siblings and other relatives.

“Tyler will be greatly missed by his family, friends, co-workers and all who came to know and love him,” the obituary stated.

His funeral was held at Ferguson-Logan on the morning of July 31. The ceremony was livestreamed online, according to the home’s website.

“A workplace accident took this young man far too soon. He was very much loved by everyone in my hometown,” P.E.I. resident Mary Nicholson Delaney posted about MacDonald on Facebook on July 25. “Rest easy, Tyler.”

“Growing up in a small town, everyone becomes part of your family. Tyler, you will be missed dearly,” posted Charlottetown resident Holly Chiasson on July 28.

In Alberta, employers are required to provide fall-protection gear for all workers who may fall at least three metres, or less if there is “an unusual possibility of injury,” according to Section 139(1) of the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Code.

New safety regulations for small fishing boats go into effect

FEDERAL – The Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations officially took effect on July 13 as scheduled, implementing new requirements for small fishing boats in Canada. Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced in Gatineau, Que. that day that the Regulations were in force, according to a government news release. The new rules, which replace the previous Small Fishing Vessel Inspection Regulations, apply to fishing vessels measuring less than 24.4 metres long and with less than 150 gross tonnage; they set new legal standards for safety equipment, written safety procedures and vessel stability. “Despite the combined efforts of governments and industry, the number of accidents on commercial fishing vessels remains unacceptably high,” Garneau said in a press statement. “The new Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations will enhance safety by helping to address the primary causes of fatalities on fishing vessels.” The new regulations were first announced on July 13 of last year, allowing a full year for fishers and owners of fishing boats to become familiar with the new rules and adapt to them (COHSN, July 19). The Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations are available online at http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2016/2016-07-13/html/sor-dors163-eng.php.

Unifor lauds new transgender anti-discrimination law

FEDERAL – A recent amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate against people because they are transgender or because of their gender identity, received a blessing from national union Unifor in a June 22 media release. The union noted in the release that transgender people still face violence and discrimination in Canada and that unions have a responsibility to defend all workers, including transgender people and those in the LGBTQ community. Unifor human-rights and international director Mohamad Alsadi called the amendment “a major victory” in a press statement. “While this recognition will not immediately end the discrimination that transgender people face, it is an incredibly powerful tool to continue to push for equality,” said Alsadi. “After many years, the federal government has extended the same human rights protections to transgender people that other communities have had for many years.” The union stated that it bargains to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on gender identity and expression in collective agreements and called for its members to challenge transphobia in all forms. Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor represents more than 310,000 workers across the country.

Employers in Alberta often bully unionized workers: report

EDMONTON, Alta. – A new report by the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), titled Poisoning the Well, has concluded that employers in the province are responsible for far more threats and intimidation in union certification drives than the unions are. According to the report, published on June 7, the Alberta Labour Relations Board has seen 34 unfair-labour-practice cases since 2001, 28 of which involved complaints against employers and six of which involved complaints against unions. The Board upheld 17 of the complaints against the employers and only one against a union, the report added. Poisoning the Well also described incidents in which employers had fired workers for associating with unions, threatened to close shop or used bullying tactics to prevent fair certification voting.When workers try to unionize their workplace, the union has no power over those workers. The employer has all the power—to fire workers, to cut their hours and to intimidate them,” said AFL president Gil McGowan in a press statement upon the report’s release. “This has led to a culture of employer impunity.” The report followed the recent adoption of the Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act, which offers tools for the Board to discourage employer intimidation. Poisoning the Well is available online at https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/afl/pages/156/attachments/original/1496781613/Poisoning_the_Well.pdf?1496781613.

Yukon WCB seeks feedback on possible oh&s legislation changes

WHITEHORSE, Y.T. – The Yukon government is planning to follow the leads of Ontario and Alberta this year by adding a presumption clause to the Workers’ Compensation Act for first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – meaning that afflicted workers would not have to prove that their illnesses are work-related to collect benefits. In addition, the government is considering amending the territory’s Occupational Health and Safety Act to address workers’ mental health. The Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board (WCB) launched a public consultation about these issues on June 5, according to a news release from the Board, and it is asking for input from employers and other stakeholders on possible legislative updates. The WCB seeks responses to two questions – whether other occupations should also be considered for PTSD presumption, and whether the respondent would support legal amendments aiming to prevent mental-health injuries at work. “While a PTSD presumption for emergency-response workers is a good first step,” said WCB chair Mark Pike in a press statement, “preventing workplace mental-health injuries is equally important.” Interested individuals and organizations can submit their answers online at http://www.wcb.yk.ca/Consultations/PTSD/PG-0045.aspx.

New workplace bill would give Albertans job-protected sick days

A new bill making its way through the Alberta legislature aims to bring the province’s workplace law up to date with the rest of Canada – including guaranteed, job-protected leave for employees with illness.

Bill 17, or the Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act, was introduced on May 24 and had its second reading on the following day. If passed, the bill would align many types of leave with federal standards, including leaves for maternity, bereavement, domestic violence, citizenship ceremonies and illness, death or disappearance of a child, according to an announcement from the provincial Ministry of Labour (MOL).

The bill would also allow workers to have a maximum of five days of job protection for personal illness or short-term care of an immediate family member per year, as well as 16 weeks of unpaid, protected leave for long-term illness or injury.

“A guarantee of job-protected, unpaid sick days would give workers time to get healthy,” Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray said in a press statement, “and it would keep employers from worrying about ill workers spreading infectious bugs to others because they are afraid to take a sick day off.

“These proposed changes would make life better for workers and employers,” added Gray.

The MOL noted that Alberta’s Employment Standards Code and Labour Relations Code have not been updated in any significant way in almost 30 years.

The bill has received public support from doctors across the province. Edmonton family physician Dr. Doug Klein called the sick-day provisions “an important social support initiative” in a statement.

“There is a small minority of Albertans who fear taking sick leave will cost them their jobs,” said Dr. David Ryan, a family doctor in St. Albert. “These proposed changes would improve the overall health of Albertans and protect our workforce.”

“I’ve seen too many hard-working Albertans juggle work and family responsibilities while battling a chronic illness,” said medical specialist Dr. Raquel Feroe. “This balancing act comes at the detriment of the patient. Long-term job-protected sick leave will help Albertans focus on recovery and battling illness.”

Other legislative amendments proposed in Bill 17 include raising the minimum work age to 13, modernizing standards for overtime and vacation pay, simplifying union certification and decertification and elimination a provision that allows employers to pay less than minimum wage to disabled workers.

Currently, Alberta and British Columbia are the only two Canadian provinces without job-protected sick leave. The territory of Nunavut also lacks this provision.

Nurses call for changes in Criminal Code to protect them against workplace violence

Healthcare workers in Ontario are using Nursing Week, which runs from May 8 to 14, as an opportunity to lobby for support for federal legislative changes that would make violence against nurses a more serious and punishable offence.

On the morning of May 2, two registered practical nurses spoke at the provincial legislature in Toronto to ask the Ontario government to back a proposed amendment to the Criminal Code, according to a news release from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Sandra Hillcoat, based in Kitchener, and Maggie Jewell from Lindsay shared true stories of healthcare professionals who had been seriously injured, sometimes permanently, following attacks by patients.

“We are asking for recognition for Nursing Week, in the form of a signal from Ontario’s provincial politicians, that the wave of violent assaults against nurses and healthcare staff is unacceptable,” Hillcoat said at the legislature, as quoted in the release.

“Violence against healthcare staff is normalized by our employers as an accepted hazard of our work,” said Jewell at the legislature. “Patients and their families take out their frustration over an increasingly under-resourced and stressed health system on healthcare staff.

“Healthcare workplaces that are unsafe for staff are also unsafe for the public we care for.”

CUPE’s proposed legal change would apply to sections 264 and 266-269 of the Code. Available on a PDF document from the union’s website, the amendment reads that judges who impose sentences for assaults against healthcare professionals should “consider as an aggravating circumstance the fact that the victim of the offence was, at the time of the commission of the offence, a healthcare worker engaged in the performance of his or her duty.”

On May 5, a group of nurses with CUPE Local 1974 held a media conference at the Artillery Park Aquatic Centre in Kingston, requesting that MPP Sophie Kiwala support the proposed amendment.

“We are looking for something meaningful. We want more than accolades and statements read in the Legislature about the dedication, skills and compassion of nurses,” said Kingston nurse Amanda Poisson at the conference. “We want MPPs… to make it a priority to help end the increasing violence healthcare staff are facing on the job.”

Poisson was joined at the conference by Local 1974 president Mike Rodrigues and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, stated a separate CUPE news release.

About 50 per cent of nurses in Ontario were assaulted in 2014, according to the union.

Nova Scotia observing 25th anniversary of Westray disaster

PLYMOUTH, N.S. – A quarter of a century has passed since a methane-gas explosion killed 26 men at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, and memorial services across Nova Scotia will pay respect to the victims of the tragedy on May 9, according to a news release from the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB). Among the planned events are a daytime Memorial March and Service and an evening Memorial Service at the Westray Miners Memorial Park in New Glasgow; the day event features remarks by N.S. Labour Minister Kelly Regan. At the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, there will be a Celebration of Life reception at 8 p.m., with appearances by WCB CEO Stuart MacLean and representatives from the United Steelworkers. “Each fatality is a human story – of loss, of tragedy, of heartache,” MacLean said in a media statement on May 5. “Each is a preventable death. Each is a person who should be here today, but is not, because something happened at a workplace.” The tragedy led to the eventual adoption of the Westray Law, a provision in the federal Criminal Code that calls for criminal prosecution for negligence after workplace fatalities.

Government pledges to enforce Westray Law more effectively

In a joint statement from the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour and the Minister of Justice, the federal government has announced that it will make greater efforts to enforce the Westray Law – a provision in the Criminal Code regarding criminal prosecution for negligence after workplace fatalities.

The announcement came on April 27, the day before National Day of Mourning, a memorial day for workers who have lost their lives on the job. It was also intended to commemorate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Westray Mine disaster, in which 26 miners were killed in an explosion in Plymouth, N.S. on May 9, 1992.

“Millions of Canadians go to work every day, expecting to return home safely, and so they should,” wrote Patricia A. Hajdu and Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canada’s Labour and Justice Ministers respectively, in the announcement. “Sadly, not all workplaces are safe. Thousands of Canadians are killed, injured, or suffer workplace-related illnesses every year on the job.”

Hajdu and Wilson-Raybould stated that the government would work with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), employers and the provincial and territorial governments to apply the Westray Law more effectively and consistently.

“We will do more to ensure that labour inspectors and law-enforcement officials are properly trained… and that they coordinate effectively to ensure that the possibility of a charge for criminal negligence resulting in a serious injury or death is not overlooked,” the Ministers wrote. “We will promote the sharing of best practices in investigating workplace fatalities across federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions.”

Hajdu and Wilson-Raybould also cited the recent federal budget, which included measures to update the Canada Labour Code to support workers more. “The new compliance and enforcement tools include new administrative monetary penalties and the authority to publicly name violators.”

In a subsequent news release, CLC president Hassan Yussuff called the federal government’s pledge “an important victory for all workers in our country and a tribute to the Westray families and families of other fallen workers, whose determination made this possible.”

Yussuff added that the next step would be to ensure coordination between federal, provincial and municipal governments.

“When criminal negligence results in injury or death of a worker – that needs to be treated as a crime, not an accident,” he said. “We are counting on governments at all levels to work together so we can prevent future Westrays.”

Enacted on March 31, 2004, the Westray Law brought in a new punishment scheme to hold employers criminally accountable for workplace fatalities. The CLC and the United Steelworkers have lobbied for years for more consistent application of the law.

Legislative amendments on workplace safety go into effect in June

HALIFAX, N.S. – Amendments to Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act will go into effect on June 12, according to a news release from the province’s Department of Labour and Advanced Education. The changes, which were passed into law in April of last year, will give additional authority to the government’s oh&s director to enforce safety laws with repeat offenders, the release noted. The Department will be able to issue stop-work orders to all of a repeat offender’s worksites, apply for a Supreme Court injunction to prohibit the offender from working in its sector and require the employer to notify the government of future work activities and locations. “Most employers operate safe workplaces, but there are some who repeatedly break serious safety laws and put people at risk of injury or death. We need to hold them more accountable,” Kelly Regan, the N.S. Minister of Labour and Advanced Education, said in a press statement on April 26. “These changes help ensure worker safety is everyone’s top priority.” The amendments received praise from Construction Association of Nova Scotia president Duncan Williams, who said that they will “level the playing field for the majority of our industry who make safety a priority.”