Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safety-reporter.com
March 2015
Right-to-work refusals
impacted by federal
labour code changes
BY JEREMY WARNING AND LORETTA BOUWMEESTER
KEY AMENDMENTS TO the
Canada Labour Code came into
eff ect on Oct. 31. e amend-
ments change the defi nition of
"danger" and impose greater ob-
ligations for workplace parties
when an employee exercises the
right to refuse dangerous work.
Prior to the most recent
change, the code defi ned dan-
ger as "any existing or poten-
tial hazard or condition or any
current or future activity that
could reasonably be expected to
cause injury or illness to a person
NEWS BRIEF
Greater > pg. 8
APPLE A DAY...
Remote workers can use all
the support they can get when it
comes to making better nutrition
choices on the job pg. 2
PROTECTING PRIVATE
HEALTH RECORDS pg. 6
Are we seeing more breaches of
privacy at health-care institutions?
And why do staff do it? We
provide some answers.
VISION CARE
There are all kinds of workplace
hazards that can damage the eye,
such as dust, radiation or bodily
fl uids. Safety equipment that's
properly used can help. pg. 3
INSIDE
FATAL FIRE AT QUEBEC
NURSING HOME MADE
WORSE BY DELAYS,
STAFFING: CORONER
A 2014 fi re that killed 32 people at
a Quebec nursing home was made
worse by inadequate staffi ng, de-
lays by rescuers and a section of
the building that failed to meet
provincial codes, a coroner's report
said. Cyrille Delage's report was
based on the testimony of more
than 50 witnesses at hearings into
the fi re at the Residence du Havre
home in L'Isle-Verte.
Part of the home did not "satisfy
the legal norms and regulations"
required for physically dependent
residents, Delage wrote.There were
not enough staff members, and
they were not adequately trained
to help residents in an emergency.
The report also pointed to lengthy
delays before fi refi ghters arrived
and requested help from neighbor-
ing municipalities.
"It was the combination of all
these factors, during the winter on
top of that, that led to the result we
knew," the coroner wrote.
Delage also called for automatic
sprinklers, as well as better train-
ing for staff and heat-and-smoke
detectors connected to a central
alarm.
Credit:
Rebecca
Cook
(Reuters)
Gamification > pg. 4
Fiat Chrysler assembly workers work on partially assembled minivans at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ont., on Feb. 9. Young workers,
and workers new to the job, are much more likely to be injured.
BY LIZ BERNIER
THE STATISTICS PAINT a pret-
ty clear, and ugly, picture: Teen-
agers are twice as likely as older
workers to be injured on the job,
and workers in their fi rst four
weeks on the job are four times
more likely to be injured.
at's according to the Insti-
tute for Work and Health and
the Ontario Ministry of Labour,
but there's a broad research base
to support the fact young work-
ers — particularly when new to a
job — are extremely vulnerable to
accidents or injuries.
"Statistics are pretty clear that
Newer techniques needed
to engage young workers in safety
Handing over a
safety orientation
binder isn't
nearly enough