Canadian Safety Reporter

October 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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Safety Reporter Canadian www.safetyreporter.com October 2014 Permanent solution for temp employees OSHA introduces best safety practices for temporary workers By SaBrina nanji South of the border, the Oc- cupational Safety and Health administration (OSHa) has re- leased recommendations for the protection of a rapidly emerging faction of the workforce — the temporary worker. according to OSHa, the recommended practices for protecting temporary workers — those hired through staff- ing agencies, temporary foreign workers and part-time or con- tract workers — were necessary News Brief CANADA > pg. 4 ExpErts say canada at low risk of Ebola pandEmic But deadly virus raises concerns, puts business continuity plans back on agenda pg. 2 mEdical marijuana crEatEs buzz for EmployErs pg. 7 In 10 years, there will be 450,000 more Canadians taking medicinal pot. Is the expectation of a drug-free workplace a thing of the past? transition from wHmis to univErsal GHs continuEs CCOHS, Health Canada release free online training courses to help workplaces prepare pg. 3 InSIde ontarIo commItS to ImprovIng mInIng Safety After the initial findings of Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer's safety re- view were released, Ontario agreed to act on key initiatives in the progress report. The province is improving the health and well-being of workers in underground mines by committing to the preliminary work of the advisory group, which includes agreements to: · Improve visibility of workers through use of high visibility apparel · Develop a mining health database that will serve as a valuable tool to track incidents of illness, exposure to a number of carcinogenic substances, helping to prevent miners from being exposed to unsafe levels and assist in the development of improved health and safety rules · Create a sharper focus on hazards to improve health and well-being in the new training standards for joint health and safety committees · Fund a study to be completed by Laurentian University that will look for ways to reduce loss of feeling in the feet triggered by continuous use of vi- brating machinery The Ontario government said pro- tecting the health and safety of all the province's workers is a key part of the plan to build up Ontario. The mining safety review final re- port will be available to the province early next year. Credit: Yves Herman (Reuters) COMPANIES > pg. 6 A protester wears a Guy Fawkes mask, symbolic of the hacktivist group "Anonymous." Companies need to have plans in place for attacks from activist groups. By Liz Bernier John Smedley waS on a routine flight between Dallas and San Diego when the plane was di- verted because of a bomb threat. Smedley, the president of Play- station Online entertainment, quickly realized it was no ordi- nary delay — it was a personal threat from a hacker group. a hacker collective known as "Lizard Squad" had been target- ing Playstation's online gaming services that day, but the group took its harassment a step fur- ther, taking to Twitter to make the threat against Smedley's plane. The tweet targeted Smed- ley by name. Though no one was hurt, the incident is an example of the risks executives face — simply for be- ing the public face of a company. Those risks can increase if a company is going through any Executives caught in the crosshairs Senior leaders can become targets for being public face of company sort of public controversy, said Kevin Calder, a Vancouver-based security expert and president of K Calder & associates. "The more sensitive the topic is… the more likely you're going to get people who are very emo- tionally involved. and within that group, there's always a sub- group of people that (could) potentially cause a problem," he said. "Particularly in an industry (where) there is a high degree of anxiety already — pipelines, environmental issues, animal rights issues." Fortunately, that sub-group of people is very small. But orga- nizations, and executives them- selves, should still be aware of potential risks — and know how to stay safe.

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