EDMONTON, Alta. – As the backlash continues against Alberta’s Bill 6 – proposed legislation that would bring the province’s agriculture sector up to the same standards as the rest of Canada in terms of health and safety legislation – the Premier has posted a lengthy note on Facebook addressed to the bill’s opponents. Alberta’s NDP Premier, Rachel Notley, stated in the Dec. 4 open letter that she had heard from many people who had expressed concern about how the bill would affect the province’s family farms and overall way of life. “The people who have lost a limb, the individuals who have lost their mobility, the families who have lost a loved one – their suffering demands that we do more as a society to prevent future losses,” Notley wrote. “These deaths and injuries can be prevented, and this is why I believe we need to act now… I will never be able to accept that injuries and deaths caused by workplace accidents are simply a fact of life.” Notley also clarified that Bill 6, if passed into law, would not interfere with children’s and neighbours’ rights to help out with farm chores or require registry of children with the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board. Notley’s government announced the bill on Nov. 17 (COHSN, Nov. 24); until it passes, Alberta remains the only province in Canada without occupational health and safety regulations for farm workers.
Category Archives: Young Workers
Jobs Minister responds to anti-Bill 6 protesters
EDMONTON, Alta. – In response to a group of farm and ranch workers who held a public demonstration against a new farm safety bill at the Alberta legislature on Nov. 27, the province’s Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, Lori Sigurdson, issued a media statement assuring opponents of the bill that it would not harm Alberta’s community of family farms. “Bill 6 does nothing more than bring Alberta’s safety standards on farm and ranching operations in line with every other province,” Sigurdson said. “Family farms have thrived in those provinces, and they will continue to do so in Alberta.” Sigurdson added that she had heard citizens’ concerns that the bill, if passed into law, might have a negative effect on family members, friends and neighbours who help farm workers with tasks. “Farm kids will continue to make their communities proud in their local 4-H program, just as they do in every other province,” she said. “The legislation provides two simple things. A paid farm worker who is directed to do something dangerous can say no… and if they are hurt or killed at work, they or their family can be compensated, just like other workers in Alberta and Canada.” The Alberta NDP government introduced Bill 6, or the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, on Nov. 17 (COHSN, Nov. 24).
Explosion kills welder, 19, at Sask. worksite
A teenage worker was killed by an explosion that occurred at his worksite about two kilometres south of Kinistino, Sask. on the afternoon of Nov. 3.
A news release from the Melfort, Sask. detachment of the RCMP stated that the 19-year-old male victim had been performing welding work at the scene at the time of the incident. Police arrived at the scene at about 2:30 p.m. after receiving a report that a firearm had probably been discharged. Upon their arrival, they determined that an explosion had occurred.
“He was cutting open a barrel with an – I think it’s called an oxy-acetylene torch,” said Constable Lorne Bennett of the Melfort RCMP. The barrel contained a type of spray foam, he added, “and they all believed it was water-based, and it exploded. He was cutting the barrel, and boom.”
The worker, whose name has not been publicly released, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police immediately determined that there was nothing suspicious or criminal about the fatality.
“We left oh&s with the scene, and they were just going to be looking at the barrel, I believe, and the contents,” said Const. Bennett.
The occupational health and safety division of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety sent representatives to investigate the scene. A communications rep with the Ministry told COHSN that the accident had not involved an employer-employee relationship – meaning that the incident was outside of the oh&s department’s mandate and the Ministry did not have the authority to investigate it.
The Melfort RCMP has continued its own investigation of the accident, according to the news release. An autopsy of the victim was scheduled as well.
Although the victim’s employer has not been deemed at fault for this incident and the specific cause is yet to be determined, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) in Hamilton, Ont. offers some advice on its website for welding safely. CCOHS says that welding near flammable material is a kind of “hot work”, meaning work with ignition sources near materials that could cause a fire or explosion. The Centre suggests inspecting a work area and removing all combustible materials from it before beginning the task if at all possible; alternatively, one may try mechanical bolting as a substitute for welding when feasible.
“Post a trained fire watcher within the work area during welding, including during breaks, and for at least 30-60 minutes after work has stopped,” CCOHS advises. “Depending on the work done, the area may need to be monitored for longer (up to three hours) after the end of the hot work.”
Mould, radiation concerns raised at Dalhousie clinic
Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour and Advanced Education (DOL) is investigating a claim that a dental clinic at Halifax’s Dalhousie University has been exposing student workers to mould and radiation.
Anonymous staff members at the clinic recently sent an open letter to local media outlets, expressing concern about the building’s health and safety risks. The letter claimed that high levels of mould had been discovered in the clinic’s basement during an assessment in May.
“The area was closed down and a haz-mat team was brought in to conduct a proper cleaning. However, there was a unit where radiographs are taken, and they failed to close this unit,” the letter read, as quoted in media reports. As a result, at least one dental assistant has been exposed to radiation “beyond acceptable levels,” due to a lack of radiation shields for X-ray operators.
Dalhousie officials did not shut the radiograph unit down until two weeks later, the letter added.
The university did not respond to COHSN’s request for comment by press time, but DOL spokesperson Chrissy Matheson confirmed that the ministry had received its own copy of the letter.
The DOL dispatched an inspector and a hygienist to the clinic to do a preliminary inspection on Oct. 28, according to Matheson. “The media advised us of this individual’s concern, so we did treat that media acknowledgement as a complaint,” she said. “We have legislation that requires us to respond to every complaint that we receive.”
The preliminary inspection found no immediate short-term risks to any staff or students, she added. “They want to do a few more reports and tests and things like that, to determine maybe long-term exposure.
“It’s a complaint that we’re taking very seriously.”
Matheson emphasized that the DOL has a 1-800 number for oh&s complaints, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “It’s anonymous, and it’s quite responsive,” she said.
“We thought it was a little unfortunate that the staff person felt the need to go to the media before.”
This is not the first controversy that the university’s Faculty of Dentistry has experienced this year. In January, the faculty suspended 13 of its students over a scandal involving a Facebook group in which members had posted misogynistic and degrading comments about female classmates.
Man detained by police following human-trafficking investigation
TORONTO, Ont. – The Human Trafficking Enforcement Team of the Toronto Police Service (TPS) has arrested a 34-year-old man, Delbert Victorine, who is suspected of forcing a woman into sex work and abusing her. A press release sent out on Sept. 3 stated that the Team had initiated an investigation into Victorine on Aug. 25, after his alleged victim had notified the police. Victorine is accused of forcing an unnamed 21-year-old woman into prostitution beginning in January and controlling her through threats and assault. During this time, he also allegedly drove her across the Greater Toronto Area for sex-work purposes and received an unspecified amount of money through her while keeping control over her, police said. On Sept. 1, TPS officers arrested Victorine and charged him with trafficking in persons by recruiting, receiving material benefits through trafficking and sex services, procuring and exercising control and two counts of assault (one with a weapon). There may be additional victims of his crimes, police said. The suspect made his first court appearance in the borough of North York on Sept. 2.
Pearson Airport worker critically injured in vehicle accident
Worker safety at the Toronto Pearson International Airport has been in question following a recent incident in which a teenage Swissport employee was critically injured in a vehicle collision.
The 18-year-old ramp worker, a resident of Mississauga, Ont., was driving a motorized baggage dolly in a marked quarter when his vehicle hit a refueling vehicle coming from another direction on Aug. 20, according to information from the Peel Regional Police (PRP).
“This caused the operator of the baggage dolly to be thrown from the vehicle, and he sustained head injuries,” said PRP media-relations officer Const. Lilly Fitzpatrick. “He was taken to a local hospital, but then was transferred to a Toronto trauma unit, where he was listed in critical condition.”
Const. Fitzpatrick added that the ramp worker’s arm had become pinned underneath the fuel truck in the accident. “But I believe the more serious injuries were because he hit his head,” she said.
There was no update on the victim’s condition as of COHSN press time. Both the ramp worker and the fuel-truck operator, a 49-year-old Brampton resident, were serving the same Air Transat flight at the time of the accident.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour and Pearson’s aviation-safety unit are investigating the incident. “Because there’s no foul play that’s involved in this, our major collision bureau is assisting only,” said Const. Fitzpatrick.
Toronto Airport Workers Council spokesperson Sean Smith told COHSN that this kind of accident is rare, but does happen. “It’s a horrific accident. It’s a tragedy. They do happen, but fortunately not frequently,” he said. “But when you do it, it’s unfortunately usually very serious, and it’s not the first time we’ve had incidents like this.”
Smith speculated that worker safety at Pearson may be at risk because of the lack of consistent oh&s policy among all the companies that operate in collaboration with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA).
“The GTAA develops policies and procedures, communicates them to management, all these dozens of employers, and then counts on them to communicate it to us, the workers,” he explained. “So they only meet on these issues with management and then depend on management through their respective health and safety committees to do the procedures. Well, here’s where problems come in.
“Let’s say a company doesn’t have a proper health and safety culture, doesn’t have proper communications – and I’ll be honest, that’s a big problem at Pearson Airport, because a lot of these companies are fly-by-night contract ground handlers that just have minimum-wage workers,” continued Smith. “With a revolving door, there are new people coming in all the time. So if the chain breaks down, then there are people working at the airport under different sets of procedures.”
Shabeen Hanifa, the GTAA senior advisor in communications, said that Pearson has airport-wide safety programming that covers all companies there.
“The GTAA’s safety partners range from regulatory bodies to air carriers and ground handlers, and the GTAA also publishes a handbook for business partners – so that’s anyone who operates at the airport – which outlines the prerequisites to operate here, to ensure the safety, security and also the sustainability of our operations,” said Hanifa. “We are always looking at ways to instruct them as to how to grow the airport safety program.”
Smith pointed out that Pearson is Canada’s largest workplace, with about 40,000 employees. “It’s almost like a shopping mall. Everyone’s there from different companies, different unions, different contract ground handlers, everything else,” he said. “It’s just a hodgepodge.” He suggested that all safety discussions should involve workers and worker organizations instead of just the GTAA and employers.
“The GTAA, to be fair to them, are very conscientious about safety, but they just will not take that step to implement a joint safety council for everyone,” said Smith. “They still want to maintain the top-down management model, the only model that they have, which is silly. It’s 19th-Century thinking.
“A health and safety committee should be a joint process. Everyone, doesn’t matter who you are, what side of the table you’re on, we’re all impacted by health and safety. Everyone should be in the room together.”
Word of the incident reached the media nearly a week after its occurrence, during the first annual Canadian Airports Safety Week, which ran from Aug. 24 to 30. The Pearson-led initiative was intended to promote worker and passenger safety through Safety Talks to employees, according to Pearson’s website.
“This is definitely felt across the entire airport community,” said Hanifa, in reference to the accident. “Airport safety programming is very important to us.”
Student video on workplace safety reaches viewers in construction industry
An award-winning short video by two high-school students in Mississauga, Ont. has carried its message about workplace tragedy to the real world, as a local construction company recently screened it to an audience of about 100 employees.
Who I’d Still Have, a two-minute public-service announcement (PSA) created by St. Francis Xavier Secondary School students Pranay Noel and Martin Czachor, won the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s (MOL) annual It’s Your Job safety-video contest earlier this year. Set to piano music composed by Noel, the video is a series of vignettes of life situations – a children’s hockey game, a marriage proposal, a man playing with his dog – followed by titles saying that four of the characters are now dead. “Unreasonable deadline” and “Afraid to question authority” are given among reasons for the fatalities.
“We began in the way of telling a PSA story in less of a direct manner, like ‘here’s job safety, here’s an accident, this could happen to you,’ but more the effects of it, how it affects the people you love,” Noel told COHSN. “So we thought we could apply it to this and kind of almost challenge the pre-existing conventions of the PSA.
“Job safety is something that really isn’t necessarily about the job safety as much as it’s about what you could lose out of the simple pleasures in life,” added Noel.
Following the contest, CRH Canada Group Inc. corporate social-responsibility coordinator Barb Smith learned of the video via a Mississauga News story. After finding Who I’d Still Have online and showing it to CRH plant manager Kevin Hughes, the company screened the video for Hughes’ construction employees at a casual lunchroom meeting, followed by a Q&A with Noel and Czachor.
“You could hear a pin drop,” Smith said about the screening. “Imagine 100 people in safety boots: there was no sound whatsoever. Everyone was just totally moved by what they had watched.”
Hughes described the workers’ reaction by saying, “The silence was very loud.”
He added that the video’s message about how workplace deaths affect friends and families reflected what he had always tried to communicate to employees who take unnecessary risks. “I often will say to somebody, ‘Would you mind introducing me to your son now? Because I don’t want the first time to be when I have to explain to him why you died in my plant,’” he said. “I try to reach people that way.”
Hughes later discussed the video with his workers during their breaks. “These kids did a really good job of showing the vacancy and the impact,” he said, referring to the absence of people who have died in workplace accidents. “And it’s rung home, especially with some of the older guys – I’m in my 60s, and quite a few of us have grandkids, and it rang home.”
MOL spokesperson William Lin was pleased to find out that Who I’d Still Have had reached a broader audience.
“That’s really, really good to hear,” said Lin. “This is fantastic news, to hear that people are watching the video online outside of high schools and workplaces that those contest entrants may be part of.”
“Videos are an excellent medium to try to paint pictures and landscapes and to put the participant in a certain situation to see what could be happening,” said CRH occupational health and safety manager Eric Bouchard. He added that Who I’d Still Have succeeds in motivating workers to do the right thing, “at least for a moment stop and think, ‘If something happens to me, it could be my family that’s going through these things.’”
Hughes cited the video’s short length and its reliance on images as further strengths. “For me, videos are very effective if they reach the heart quickly. If they’re purely technical and just sort of preaching videos, people tune out.”
Noel and Czachor had tied for first place in the 2013-2014 It’s Your Job as well, with their film Flower. But the success of their entry this year took them by surprise.
“We had a video last year as well, and that didn’t get as much recognition, especially not even from our school. So we weren’t expecting too much when we made this one,” said Noel, who counts Stanley Kubrick as one of his favourite filmmakers and influences. “And then, when companies started actually contacting me, that was definitely something.
“It’s what we love to do. That’s our passion.”
Who I’d Still Have can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UEEAV8E5X0.
CCOHS infographic lists safety tips for new workers
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has created a new online infographic containing some basic information and advice regarding new workers and safety. “New Worker Safety in Canada” is a 27.9-by-43.2-cm poster that is downloadable from the CCOHS website in PDF form and can be printed on 11×17-sized paper. Defining a “new worker” as any worker on the first month of a job, regardless of age, the infographic lists tips on workers’ rights, effective training methods, what employers can do and how new workers can protect themselves on the job. The poster also includes statistics on new workers’ risks and injuries from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto. All workers have between five and seven times the usual risk of injury on the first month of the job, the IWH says, while only 21 per cent of Canadian workers receive proper safety training in the first year of a new job. “New Worker Safety in Canada” is available online at http://images.ccohs.ca/products/infographics/download/newWorkers.jpg, and a plain text version is also available, at http://www.ccohs.ca/products/posters/longdesc/new-worker-safety.html.
Ontario keeping an eye on young worker safety
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) is conducting a summer blitz targeting new and young workers. From May 1 to August 31, inspections will take place on industrial sector workplaces where new and young workers are employed across the province, the Ministry announced in a statement on May 13.
“Workplace incidents continue to kill and critically injure new and young workers, and that is simply unacceptable. Our sons and daughters deserve to come home safe after a hard day’s work,” Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn said in the statement. “That’s why we’re committed to eliminating workplace tragedies by ensuring all workers know their rights and responsibilities and employers across the province are following the rules.”
The blitz pertains to young workers aged 14 to 24, as well as to new workers who are on the job for less than six months or assigned to a new job, including workers aged 25 and older. The MOL defines new workers as:
- Any new hire, either permanent or temporary, including supervisors, with or without experience in the industry where they are working;
- Workers who are assigned new jobs in the same workplace in which they previously performed other work;
- Student workers, co-op placement students or apprentices;
- Unpaid secondary school students who are participating in a work experience program authorized by their school board;
- Other unpaid learners participating in a program approved by a post-secondary institution; and
- Unpaid trainees who are not employees for the purposes of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, but who are covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Inspections will take place in the following industrial sectors: farming; agricultural services; tourism, hospitality and recreation; retail; vehicle sales and service; wholesale; automotive; food, beverage and tobacco; and sawmills and logging. Inspectors will be checking that new and young workers are properly informed, instructed and supervised on the job, that they meet minimum age requirements and that they are following required safety measures and procedures to prevent injuries.
Many young workers who receive lost-time injuries are employed as labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities as well as food counter attendants and kitchen helpers, the MOL said in the statement.
“New and young workers are three times more likely to be injured during their first month of work than at any other time,” said Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis in the statement. “We must all work together to improve health and safety and prevent injuries and deaths of these workers at Ontario workplaces. This includes government, employers, supervisors, workers and our health and safety partners.”
Between 2009 and 2013, 30 young workers between the ages of 15 to 24 died in work-related incidents and more than 30,000 received lost-time injuries, notes the Ministry.
More information on young worker safety can be found on the Ministry’s website at: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/atwork/youngworkers.php.
Dick Martin Scholarship recipients announced
HAMILTON, Ont. – The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has announced the winners of the 2015 Dick Martin Scholarship Award. The honour is granted each year to students in occupational health and safety programs at postsecondary institutions across Canada. Recipients, Florence Janvier from the University of Montreal and Genevieve Fox from the British Columbia Institute of Technology will each be awarded $3000 and their respective academic institutions will each receive $500. The winners were announced during North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, which took place from May 3 to 9. The Dick Martin Scholarship Fund was established by CCOHS’ Council of Governors in 2002 in the memory of past governor on the CCOHS Council and workplace health and safety pioneer Dick Martin.