Canadian Safety Reporter

April 2014

Focuses on occupational health and safety issues at a strategic level. Designed for employers, HR managers and OHS professionals, it features news, case studies on best practices and practical tips to ensure the safest possible working environment.

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the workplace safety source for ohs managers and hr professionals Continued on page 4 april 2014 BliNDFOlDED CNIB uses unusual tactic to get message about workplace eye safety across . . . . . . 2 ENgiNEEr FaciNg crimiNal chargEs Police lay charges in mall roof collapse that killed 2 people, class-action lawsuit also filed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 iN thE wakE OF a tragEDy In the aftermath of an attack at a grocery warehouse in Edmonton, we look at how employers can begin healing . . . . . . . . . .7 iN this issUE Continued on page 6 Near-record workplace deaths in alberta Inclusion of occupational disease spikes fatalities | By SaBrina nanji | FatalitiEs at wOrkplacEs in Alberta hit a near record in 2013. According to data released from the provincial government, 188 workers died last year as a result of the jobs they do. The numbers have nearly doubled com- pared to previous years — a jump likely caused by the inclusion of occupational diseases to the province's fatality rubric. Of those 188 deaths, 99 could be linked to an occupational disease, ac- cording to data compiled by the Workers' Com- pensation Board (WCB). That means any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of the work per- formed, such as long- term exposure to carcino- gens or other dangerous airborne particles. That the figures were so high did not necessarily come as a surprise to Thomas Lukaszuk, who helms Alberta's newly-formed Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour. "These are the numbers about which you and I cannot do anything today. It is damage that has happened in the past," Lukaszuk said. "But these are the num- bers that can teach you and me a lesson on what we need to do now so that the minister 20 or 30 years from now won't be dealing with the same thing." As they currently stand, the figures are skewed, according to Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL). That's because there are, increasingly, more deaths that should officially be considered occupational fatalities in the data — but they aren't covered by the province's definition. "The only reason it's not an all-time record is because the record is almost unbeatable," McGowan said, citing the 1914 Hillcrest mine explosion, otherwise known as Canada's worst mine disas- ter, which killed 189 workers. That year holds the current record for workplace fatalities, at 221. "For all intents and purposes, this actually re- ally is the high watermark for modern workplace fatalities in Alberta," Mc- Gowan continued. "Al- bertans and policymak- ers should see this as a warning bell. Something is going seriously wrong in Alberta." In reality, the numbers are likely much higher, he said. While the inclusion of some oc- cupational diseases led to a spike in the number of deaths, there exists the pos- sibility that, had even more occupational diseases been worked into the rubric, fa- talities would be even higher. He pointed to firefighters, whose high- risk work-related cancers and disease are now eligible for workers' compensation benefits. Had the data included other work-related cancers, in particular those that energy sector employees are at a high risk for, the numbers would have been higher. Lukaszuk (who years ago also en- joyed a stint as the minister in charge of occupational health and safety) echoed these concerns, but argued that we sim- ply cannot know what we cannot know. safecare Bc aims to cut long-term care injuries | By liz foSter | British cOlUmBia has a new agency aimed at reducing injuries in the health- care sector, and the province's main pub- lic sector union is "cautiously optimistic" about its creation. The British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) won't say much more than that about its expectations for SafeCare BC, according to the union's health and safety officer Sheila Moir. SafeCare BC is a workplace health and safety association focused on reduc- ing the severity and frequency of injuries in the province's continuing health-care sector. It will provide health and safety training, educational services and indus- try safety performance information. Moir said the BCGEU is encouraged "the only reason it's not an all time record is because the record is almost unbeatable" – a 1914 mine explosion that killed 189 workers.

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