OH&S Canada March/April 2015 by Annex Business Media

C A N A D Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E MARCH / APRIL 2015

C A N A D A

Unearthing In search of accountability in Canadian mines abroad

HANDS OFF

Inappropriate gestures in the office

FUEL TO THE FLAMES Controlling oil refinery hazards

STRIKING A BALANCE

Random testing in safety-sensitive industries

STRESSED OUT

Employees feeling the burn

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any

C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

FEATURES

M IN IN G 24

CC A A NNA AD DA A

Digging in Foreign Lands

M A RC H / A P RIL 2 0 1 5 Vo l u m e 3 1, Nu mb e r 2

A lawsuit filed by Eritrean workers against a Vancouver-based mining firm has raised questions about the standards and accountability of Canadian companies abroad. BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

WOR KP LAC E HAR AS S M EN T 30

A Safe Space

The scandal involving a high-profile radio host with Canada’s national broadcaster has prompted a heated debate regarding sexual harassment on the job. BY JEFF COTTRILL

OIL AN D GAS

Refining the Risks

Explosions, such as the one that injured more than 50 workers in a Saskatchewan oil refinery in 2011, can be prevented with a robust fire-prevention program. BY WILLIAM M. GLENN

DEPARTMENTS

S AF ETY GEAR

Safety Goes Wireless

What’s ’appening? Mobile applications with workplace-safety functions are proving to be more than just a helping hand for oh&s professionals. BY JEAN LIAN

IN C ON V ER S ATION 4 6

Impairment Versus Intrusion

Random drug-and-alcohol testing remains a controversial issue for many employers. Lawyer Christina Hall advises employers on how to strike the right balance.

Making the Cut

IN THIS ISSUE ED IT O R IA L

PA N O R A MA

L ET T ER S

Trouble Overhead

O H&S U P D AT E

Problems at a Nunavut prison; British Columbia nurses combat violence; Ontario man killed during firefighter training; Nova Scotia farm worker saved from fall; and more. D IS PAT C HES

Government gets tough on transit-worker assaults; tighter rules for rail companies; keeping crane operators safe and tested; and more. PA RT N ER S IN PRE V E NT I O N 2 0 1 5 P R O D U C T S HO W CAS E A D IN D EX

AC C ID EN T P R EV EN TION

Many jobs require handling knives and operating machinery with blades. For those wielding these tools, taking safety precautions can prevent them from getting cut.

HEALTH WATC H

Putting Stress on Stress

A recent report says many Canadian workers are feeling stressed by their jobs. Stress can motivate us, but it can also trigger accidents and health problems. BY JEFF COTTRILL

TIM E OUT

Phantom driver; sky fall; bare it all; “hot” chocolate; drone sightings; and more.

52 56 57

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

– BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

www.ohscanada.com

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EDITORIAL C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

Trouble Overhead T

he tragic incident in which a flight crashed in the French Alps with 150 people on board on March 23 highlights critical safety oversights in the airline industry. It is believed that the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane by locking the pilot out of the cockpit when he went to the washroom. Canada’s Transport Minister Lisa Raitt acted quickly upon hearing the news, issuing an interim order on March 26 that requires two crew members to be on the flight deck at all times. The new regulation also allows a member of the cabin crew to take the place of a pilot during a bathroom break. While Canadian airlines, such as Air Canada, Westjet and Air Transat, have publicly stated that they will be following the directive, surprisingly, Porter Airlines was the only airline to report that the rule had always been part of its policy, according to the Toronto Star. If it is indeed the case that the three airlines never had such a policy, I am shocked. When the lives of dozens — and sometimes hundreds — of people are at stake, you can never be too cautious. As more details of the catastrophe emerge, the event has the potential to shine a light on the difficulties faced by many workers with mental health issues who struggle to maintain their jobs. Reports suggest that Lubitz had received doctor’s notes excusing him from work and that prior to becoming a pilot, he may have had suicidal tendencies and was seeing a psychotherapist for depression. Lubitz apparently had not disclosed this information to his employer before the crash. Unfortunately, the incident has served only to further stigmatize mental illness, with some people calling for airlines to institute more rigorous psychological-testing policies for pilots. But such testing usually relies on self-reports, which employees could potentially manipulate. More importantly, it is misguided to suggest that struggling through a bout of depression prior to being certified as a pilot makes that person unfit to fly. At least in part, because an isolated episode such as this may not be an accurate predictor of the future. Life circumstances always have the potential to lead to stress, anxiety, depression or other mental disorders. Even the chief aviation investigator of the Transportation Safety Board said in an interview with The Canadian Press that what happened in the Germanwings crash is very rare. When it comes to testing an employee’s mental state, no one person can produce perfect results every time. People cannot be automated, and therefore, human error or flaws will always be present. While more testing, policies or automation may prevent the same accident from happening again, it cannot predict new problems that may arise. A Vanity Fair piece published last October suggests that the devastating event in which an Air France flight crashed in 2009, killing 228 people, displays how increasing automation may actually be leading to poorer human performance. The writer ends on the thought: “There will still be accidents, but at some point we will have only the machines to blame.” When accident prevention focuses solely on better policies or technologies, it fails to capture the entire picture. A Mental Health Commission of Canada study notes that one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness. Since the health and safety of pilots and passengers are inextricably linked, perhaps through addressing the root cause by improving pilots’ health, public safety may also improve. Carmelle Wolfson Acting Editor

C A N A D A

Vol. 31, No. 2 MARCH/APRIL 2015

EDITOR JEAN LIAN jlian@ohscanada.com ASSISTANT EDITOR CARMELLE WOLFSON cwolfson@ohscanada.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT JEFF COTTRILL jcottrill@ohscanada.com ART DIRECTOR

ANNE MIRON PHYLLIS WRIGHT

PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER

GARY WHITE

MARKETING SPECIALIST

DIMITRY EPELBAUM

CIRCULATION MANAGER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER PUBLISHER PRESIDENT, ANNEX-NEWCOM LP

BARBARA ADELT badelt@annexnewcom.ca SHEILA HEMSLEY shemsley@ohscanada.com PETER BOXER pboxer@ohscanada.com ALEX PAPANOU

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

DAVID IRETON, Safety Professional, Brampton, Ont. AL JOHNSON, Vice President, Prevention Services WorkSafeBC, Richmond, B.C. JANE LEMKE, Program Manager, OHN Certification Program, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ont.

DON MITCHELL, Safety Consultant, Mississauga, Ont. MICHELE PARENT, National Manager, Risk Management and Health and Wellness,

Standard Life, Montreal, Que. TERRY RYAN, Workers’ Compensation and Safety Consultant, TRC Group Inc., Mississauga, Ont. DON SAYERS, Principal Consultant, Don Sayers & Associates, Hanwell, N.B. DAVID SHANE, National Director, Health and Safety, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa, Ont. HENRY SKJERVEN, President, The Skjerven Cattle Company Ltd., Wynyard, Sask. PETER STRAHLENDORF, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Health, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ont. JONATHAN TYSON, Association of Canadian Ergonomists/Association canadienne d’ergonomie, North Bay, Ont. OHS CANADA is the magazine for people who make decisions about health and safety in the workplace. It is designed to keep workers, managers and safety professionals informed on oh&s issues, up to date on new developments and in touch with current thinking in the oh&s community. WEBSITE: http://www.ohscanada.com INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS contained in this publication have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and to be representative of the best current opinion on the subject. No warranty, guarantee nor representation is made by Annex-Newcom LP as to the absolute correctness or sufficiency of any representation contained in this publication. OHS CANADA is published six times per year by Annex-Newcom LP, a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business information services. The yearly issues include: January/ February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/ December. Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is pending at Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304. U.S. Postmaster, Office of Publication, send address corrections to: OHS Canada, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0357. ADDRESS: OHS CANADA MAGAZINE, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9. TELEPHONE: Customer Service: 1-866-543-7888; Editorial: 416-510-6893; Sales: 416-510-5102; Fax: 416-510-5171. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Canada: $110.50/year; USA: $132.50/year; foreign: $137.50. (Prices include postage and shipping; applicable taxes are extra.) SINGLE COPIES: Canada: $6.00; USA: $8.00; foreign $10.00 Bulk subscription rates available on request. Indexed by Canadian Business Periodicals Inc. ISSN 0827-4576 OHS Canada (Print) • ISSN 1923-4279 OHS Canada (Online) Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. From time to time, we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Customer Service: (Tel) 416-510-5189; (Fax) 416-510-5167; (E-mail) asingh@annexnewcom.ca; (Mail) Privacy Officer, Annex-Newcom LP, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Canada. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright and may be used for your personal, non-commercial purposes only. All other rights are reserved, and commercial use is prohibited. To make use of any of this material, you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information, please contact the editor. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

POSTAL INFORMATION: Publications mail agreement no. 40069240. Postmaster, please forward forms 29B and 67B to Annex-Newcom LP, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Canada. Date of issue: MARCH/APRIL 2015

MARCH/APRIL 2015

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panorama $3 million 5 1

Amount the Government of Prince Edward Island will spend to update its mobile-radio system for first responders. The province plans to install a system that will use newer technology to provide better coverage for the RCMP, paramedics and firefighters. Source: The Canadian Press

4 3

1. Rules

for Fighting: Saskatchewan proclaimed the Athletics Commission Act on March 9, providing the province with the authority to establish the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan. The body would sanction professional combative sporting events and ensure a consistent set of rules, regulations and safety protocols. Source: Government of Saskatchewan

2. Regulation Review: Ontario is considering regulating companies that provide safety-training courses to firefighters and other first responders, following the death of a firefighting student during a training exercise in February. The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is reviewing the Private Career Colleges Act, with plans to propose changes this fall to include private safety courses in legislation.

$600,000 Investment pledged by the City of Ottawa on March 4 to hire more safety officers for its public-transit system. The move seeks to reduce traffic collisions by increasing compliance visits. Source: Canadian Occupational Health and Safety News (COHSN)

Source: The Canadian Press

3. Applications Made Easy: Employers in Nova Scotia seeking workplace-insurance coverage can now apply online through the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia’s website. Previously, employers had to complete a print form and mail or fax the registration. Employers will now also receive an immediate confirmation e-mail, including useful links and information about health and safety. Source: Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia

4. Championing Farm Safety: The annual Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, which educates the public on the importance of farming safety, took place from March 15 to 21, organized by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The theme for 2015, “Be the Difference”, called on Canada’s agricultural workers to make a positive difference by becoming “farm safety champions”. Source: Canadian Agricultural Safety Week

5. Three

Cheers: Two schools in Newfoundland and Labrador were awarded $5,000 each in the seventh season of Who Wants to Save a Life?, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission announced on March 27. The game show, funded through the commission and the Department of Education, will air on Rogers this fall. Holy Spirit High School of Conception Bay South and Menihek High of Labrador City won the top prize in the junior and senior high school categories respectively. Source: Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission

360°

DEADLY BLAST Thirty-three miners in Ukraine were killed on March 4, after an explosion caused by methane gas occurred at the Zasyadko mine in the city of Donetsk. Miners who had arrived for work that day assisted in the rescue mission, which turned into an operation to retrieve a mounting number of dead. The mine has a history of deadly incidents. In 2007, 101 workers were killed in one accident and two more incidents claimed a total of 57 workers. Source: The Associated Press

MARCH/APRIL 2015

Penalty issued by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour to Torontobased Marmora Freezing Corporation over the death of a security guard, who was hit by a car driven by a departing co-worker during a midnight shift on December 14, 2011. Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour

$60,000

Fine meted out to the City of St. John’s and the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Works, in connection with the death of an inspector and injuries to two workers when an SUV collided with workers on a highway. Source: COHSN

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LETTERS

Recent issues of ohs canada and our website, www.ohscanada.com, have provided readers with plenty to chew on. LOCKING UP Our “Accident Prevention” section provides readers with tips on lockout/tagout procedures. (ohs canada, Jan/Feb 2015) I very much enjoyed reading the article “Locking Danger Out”. There were some very good observations made in this short piece on an often-complicated subject. By the way, we updated CSA Z460 standard on hazardous energy control in 2013. The current edition is CSA Z460-13. I would like to make a few observations based on our standards: • New technology has allowed us to go beyond the traditional lockout methods. Also included in these isolation and control systems are methods for locking out a variety of power systems and mobile machinery. • In our standards, there is a fundamental emphasis on designing systems and specifying equipment to achieve clear and non-ambiguous energy control. There are also provisions for true energy control on systems where lockout is impracticable. • Our standards have avoided the use of the term “tagout” (even though it is commonly used in many workplaces). We choose to refer only to identification tags and informational tags because in United States jurisdictions “tagout” is understood to refer to a method of tagging out equipment without the use of a locking mechanism. In Canada, this is not recognized as an alternative method where lockout is needed for energy control. Dave Shanahan OHS Standards Project Manager

RAISING THE BAR Some industry experts question the credibility of the National Construction 8

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Safety Officer (NCSO) certification. (ohs canada, Jan/Feb 2015) I could not agree more with the author. Safety in Alberta is about making money, not about providing the skills, competence, coaching, assessment, independent verification and credible certification, to ensure that workplaces and processes are safe for workers. Even the COR [Certificate of Recognition] program is of questionable value. I despair at the backwardness of the approach taken to safety in Alberta. Presidents, chief executive officers and those “responsible” for safety in companies here are a large part of the problem too, with some very primitive approaches to safety and safety culture. A seminar is not the solution!

The CRSP is the nationally-accepted designation for “technical” safety knowledge for safety generalists. The Canadian Society of Safety Engineering’s Certified Health and Safety Consultant (CHSC) professional designation is the nationally-accepted designation for the “management” of safety. The CHSC and CRSP enhancements to a safety career are not in competition; both have distinctly different purposes and are complimentary within a professional career. As safety professionals transition in their career progression from field activities to becoming an integral part of a management team, skills in the management of safety become as valuable to a career as being able to develop and apply a technical safety solution.

Lizzie Taylor

CRSP-CHSC Safety Pro

The problem in the safety industry lies within its own organization. If the professionals cannot agree to determine and clearly communicate the levels of safety, then why would you expect a labourer to follow, or an employer to hire, someone who cannot substantiate a standard? Many who take construction courses are there because their bosses have sent them — not because they want to be. Let’s face it: You cannot be or do two things at once (project manager/safety officer); one will suffer for the other. Instead of printing an article with the divided lines, why don’t you show what title sets what level of standard for safety, how they get certified and what the entitlement allows you to do? Larry

As a side note to the principal discussion of the value proposition, when comparing the Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (CRSP) to the NCSO, the author appears to have limited the research for the portion of the article that identified safety professional designations. The statement, “The CRSP is the highest national designation for safety generalists” is not accurate.

PROVINCE BEHIND THE TIMES The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association is calling for full workers’ compensation coverage. (ohs canada, Jan/Feb 2015) One did not expect the Statutory Review Committee to recommend government removal of the ban on top-up for injured employees in Newfoundland. There is also no political will to do so. Newfoundland is ruled by employers who think that this ban is a good thing. What they do not realize is that this ban has been in effect for more than 20 years, and is an antiquated law from a bygone area. This is a major reason why young, skilled workers refuse to work in the province and prefer to work out west, where employers provide top-up. Terra

Would you like to share a comment? Send an email to jlian@ohscanada.com. Letters may be edited for style, grammar and length.

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OH&S UPDATE

HAZARDS AT BORDER POSTS FEDERAL — A recent report from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says that Canadian border officers are being put at risk by health and safety hazards at smaller and more remote crossings. Excessive radon gas, insufficient heating and poor shelter are some of the risks highlighted. Evaluation of Small and Remote Ports of Entry (SRPOE) — Final Report, published in late January, cites pests, inadequate ventilation, lack of air conditioning and lack of water as issues contributing to health and safety risks for the officers. “At some SRPOE locations, the primary- and secondary-inspection area does not provide a shelter from the elements,” the report reads. The lack of camera systems also presents threats to general safety and security of officers, it adds. Another safety concern is the age of many of these facilities. The report identifies 34 facilities that have buildings more than 40 years old, with the oldest being over 80 years old. “This is beyond the expected service life of these structures and presents repeated maintenance issues and health and safety concerns,”

the CBSA notes. Additionally, the remote locations of many border-crossing facilities have created possible safety hazards “due to the distance from law-enforcement backup or medical services in the event of an emergency and the lack of cell-phone coverage in some areas. The Personal Alarm Security System radio system used at POEs [points of entry] has limited ability for port-to-port communication and cannot be used to communicate with other agencies,” the report reads. From 2008 to 2013, there were 105 reports of occupational health and safety-related incidents at SRPOEs. “Only 6.7 per cent of the incidents reported were related to infrastructure,” the agency notes. Between 2008 and 2012, 64 grievances and two work refusals related to workplace safety were initiated at SRPOEs, compared to 206 grievances and 25 work refusals at other land-border POEs over the same period. In response to these concerns, the CBSA plans to invest $99 million over the next five years towards infrastructure and health and safety issues at SRPOEs. The CBSA says that it will replace critical SRPOE infrastructure under the Small

Ports Infrastructure Replacement Initiative by 2015 and implement recommendations developed by the Small Ports Working Group.

CHANGES CITED IN CRASH FEDERAL — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has concluded that undocumented modifications to a small float plane may have indirectly led to a fatal crash that killed three people, including the pilot, on October 24, 2013. The investigation found that several alterations had been made to the aircraft before it left Port McNeill, British Columbia, according to a report realeased on February 25. Since nobody had documented the effects that these changes would have on flight, the plane may have performed in unexpected ways that the pilot could not control, leading to the fatal accident on a small island in Potts Lagoon, West Cracroft Island. “The aircraft experienced an accelerated aerodynamic stall while being flown at an altitude from which recovery was not possible,” the report concludes. If multiple modifications to an aircraft

DERAILMENTS PROMPT RESPONSE FROM REGULATOR FEDERAL — Following the derailment of a Canadian National (CN) freight train near Gogama, Ontario on March 7 — the second CN derailment in the region, and the third in Northern Ontario, in less than a month — Transport Canada (TC) says it will introduce new safety standards. The train, which consisted of 94 tank cars carrying crude oil eastbound from Alberta, was roughly halfway between Sudbury and Timmins when 30 cars derailed. There were no reported injuries or fatalities in the disaster, but some cars caught fire and oil spilled into the Mattagami River System. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is investigating the incident. A new tank-car standard would call for more robust cars to carry flammable liquids, TC says. Adoption of the new car, DOT-117 (TC-140), has been in consultations since July 18 and TC has been conducting technical discussions with its counterparts down south to harmonize standards. The new proposed standard requires tank cars to be jacketed and thermally protected with thicker steel and to be equipped with a full head shield, top-fitting protection and a new bottom outlet valve.

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The regulator says it has hired more safety inspectors, trained them to do audits and ordered them to carry out the audits more frequently. Last April, TC issued a protective direction to phase out insufficient tank cars, particularly CTC111A cars (known as DOT-111 cars in the United States), and order shippers to develop Emergency Response Assistance Plans for tank cars carrying dangerous goods. Steven Del Duca, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation, calls the latest incident “very concerning” in a statement issued on March 9, adding that he intends to confront his federal counterpart about the issue. Members of the Mattagami First Nation are also concerned about smoke inhalation and river contamination following the derailment. “Transport Canada takes all incidents involving dangerous goods seriously,” the ministry says, adding that the safety and security of the transportation system are top priorities. In January, TSB chair Kathy Fox said the Minister of Transport and the department had taken strong action to improve rail safety in the wake of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, but more work still needed to be done. — By Jeff Cottrill

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are made without adequate guidance on how to evaluate and document the effects on aircraft handling, then “pilots may lose control of the aircraft due to unknown aircraft performance.”

DEFICIENCIES IN PRISON: REPORT IQALUIT — A new report from the Auditor General of Canada, Michael Ferguson, has charged that poor conditions in Nunavut’s only maximum-security facility pose safety risks to staff and inmates. In Corrections in Nunavut — Department of Justice, published on March 10, Ferguson accuses the federal Department of Justice of having failed to address serious issues with the Baffin Correctional Centre (BCC) in Iqaluit. Among the concerns Ferguson highlights are the following: • The BCC held an average of 82 prisoners from 2013 to 2014, despite having a capacity for 68; • Inmates of different security levels often have not been separated from each other;

• I nmates have been housed in the gym; • The building is substandard, with holes in walls, mould and poor air quality; • Cells, toilets and showers are not cleaned or disinfected sufficiently; • Security requirements for more dangerous inmates are insufficient; and • The prison fails to comply with the National Fire Code. “The Department of Justice has been aware of critical deficiencies at its core correctional facility, the Baffin Correctional Centre, for many years,” Ferguson writes. “Despite this, the Department invested funds to construct the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility and Makigiarvik, which will provide some relief of overcrowding, but which does not address the territory’s most critical facility needs.” The Auditor General’s report says the department did not replace the BCC, as set out in its 2006-07 fiscal-year capitalplanning document. “The proposal for a $300,000 study to look at modernizing, expanding and possibly replacing the Baffin Correctional Centre was removed from the Department’s 2010-11 fiscal-year capital esti-

mates by the Legislative Assembly.” In 2013, the Office of the Correctional Investigator authored a report that cited similar problems at the BCC, as well as water, heating and ventilation issues. The auditor general’s report also examines facilities in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Kugluktuk and outpost camps throughout the territory.

FINES ISSUED OVER FATALITY WHITEHORSE — The Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board (YWCHSB) has fined Yukon Agriculture and a contractor, after a man died while capturing wild horses last year. On January 26, 2014, Arnold Johnson was working with a Yukon livestock control officer to capture the horses near Kusawa Lake, about 60 kilometres west of Whitehorse. The Department of Energy, Mines and Resources had hired contractor Dan Sabo to capture the horses. Sabo built a fence corral and baited the horses into it, but when the workers were connecting the metal panels to the fence,

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the horses bolted. One horse that had become tangled in a fence panel knocked Johnson to the ground and the horse rolled over him. He later died from a head injury. After a 10-month investigation, the YWCHSB fined Yukon Agriculture $5,000 for failing to establish a complete occupational health and safety program. Sabo was fined $750 for failing to properly assess the risks associated with the job and for not providing appropriate personal-protective equipment.

UNION VOWS TO PRESS CHARGES VICTORIA — The president of the British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU), the province’s largest nursing organization, says that it plans to start pursuing legal action whenever a nurse is injured by a patient while on the job, as long as the victim authorizes the action. At the annual BCNU convention in Vancouver on February 24, Gayle Duteil announced that the union would press charges against attackers of healthcare

professionals. The BCNU has also developed a new policy that will provide support to nurses who experience physical or psychological injury at work. “We have to change society’s expectation that just because you are unwell and in a healthcare facility, that it is okay to assault a nurse, to hit or pinch or spit or bite or verbally yell at them,” says BCNU vice-president, Christine Sorensen. “We can’t continue to allow that to happen.” The BCNU’s intention is to get provincial healthcare authorities to respond properly to violence against healthcare workers. “They, unfortunately, seem more interested in downplaying or covering up the violence against our nurses,” Sorensen charges. “We want them to fully investigate and provide solutions that are going to reduce it.” Following Duteil’s announcement, Terry Lake, British Columbia’s Minister of Health, told reporters at the provincial legislature in Victoria that the ministry was working with healthcare professionals to reduce occupational violence. In the case of assailants with mental

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illnesses, Lake says that it is up to the legal system to determine whether they are criminally responsible for their actions. “Often, there is a lack of awareness on the part of the patient,” he notes. “Fortunately, we have very well-trained nurses, psychiatrists and people who work in the mental-health system. They know how to de-escalate behaviour.” Sorensen charges that security, training and staffing are inadequate in the province’s healthcare facilities. “Nurses do not go to nursing school to learn takedowns, to learn how to deal with violent patients,” she says. The BCNU is planning to create a phone line, through which healthcare professionals can report violent incidents, by June 11.

MEXICO LOSES APPEAL VANCOUVER — The Court of Appeal for British Columbia has ruled that the defence of state immunity does not protect Mexico from labour-relations issues that affect its workers in Canada. On January 30, the high court dismissed the appeal from the Supreme Court of British Columbia relating to Mexico’s judicial review petition. The issue arose out of a decision by the British Columbia Labour Relations Board (BCLRB), which involved an application to decertify Local 1518 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW) as the bargaining agent for a group of agricultural workers at Sidhu & Sons Nursery Ltd. in Mission. The labour board concluded that state immunity did not prevent it from considering and making findings regarding Mexico’s conduct. “I do not agree that the [BCLRB] exercised jurisdiction over Mexico when it considered whether Mexico’s conduct amounted to improper interference with the employees of the union for the purpose of exercising its discretion to refuse to cancel the union’s certification,” Justice David Harris writes in the appeal court decision. “The [BCLRB] made no orders in relation to property in the ownership, possession or control of Mexico. It did not affect Mexico’s legal interests. In my view, that conclusion is sufficient to dispose of this appeal.” On April 11, 2011, employees of the union applied to the labour board to decertify the union. Soon after, the UFCW

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filed a complaint seeking the dismissal of the decertification application on the basis that Mexico had engaged in unfair labour practices and improper interference, such that the representation vote was unlikely to reflect the true wishes of union employees. The union alleged that Mexico employed a policy of preventing workers who supported the union from returning to Canada or from working in unionized workplaces. Initially, the BCLRB ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to require Mexico to participate and dismissed the complaint. But Justice Lisa Warren of the Supreme Court of British Columbia overruled that position, making the judgement that Mexico’s conduct could have consequences for others under Canadian law.

CHANGES TO BEEF UP COMPLIANCE VICTORIA — The Government of British Columbia has amended the Workers Compensation Act to strengthen WorkSafeBC’s ability to promote and enforce oh&s compliance.

Introduced on February 11, the amendments change policy in the following four areas: • Providing a range of new safety-enforcement tools; • Shortening the process for finalizing financial penalties to improve their effectiveness as an enforcement tool; • Ensuring timely employer investigations of workplace incidents and reports; and • Enhancing workplace-safety expertise on the WorkSafeBC board of directors by adding two new members who have backgrounds in occupational safety, law or law enforcement. “These changes complement other operational improvements taking place at WorkSafeBC to implement a worldclass inspection and investigation regime, in the wake of the tragic sawmill incidents that occurred in 2012 in Burns Lake and Prince George,” the provincial Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training says in a statement. The new safety-enforcement tools include a compliance agreement for employers who voluntarily agree to im-

prove the safety of their workplaces in response to inspections by WorkSafeBC, as well as “on-the-spot” fines for less serious contraventions. WorkSafeBC will also have the ability to stop work at sites where unsafe conditions present a high risk to workers, and the courts’ authorities will be expanded to bar the worst offenders from operating in the province. A WorkSafeBC backgrounder says the changes will require employers to “conduct a preliminary investigation within 48 hours of a significant incident and to take necessary actions to prevent a similar incident from occurring while a full investigation is being conducted.” The employer’s full investigation must also be completed within 30 days, unless WorkSafeBC grants an extension. While the reforms are a step in the right direction, more can be done, says British Columbia Federation of Labour president in Vancouver Irene Lanzinger. She adds that the Federation has been calling for a dedicated Crown prosecutor and a Crown charge-assessment policy specific to workplace fatalities.

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PROVINCE INCREASES RANDOM INSPECTIONS REGINA — Saskatchewan’s occupational safety authorities are stepping up random workplace inspections, after more than a year of focusing efforts on injury-prone workplaces. Don Morgan, provincial Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, announced the decision on March 4. “The concern that was expressed to our Minister was one of ‘We are not doing any random inspections,’ when, in fact, we always have been,” says Mike Carr, the province’s Deputy Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety in Regina. “But it led the minister to make the observation that we could probably do more.” Carr explains that the ministry’s policy change in 2013 was an attempt to lower the province’s overall injury rate — Canada’s second-highest — by narrowing the focus to the most problematic workplaces. “We used to be in a situation where 90 per cent of the work that our officers did was random, 10 per cent was focused,” he says. “We have repositioned our resources, done some additional training and said that our officers are going to undertake intelligencebased, evidence-based activity with a narrow group.” Saskatchewan Federation of Labour president Larry Hubich says he is “encouraged” by the ministry’s recent decision, but he is skeptical about its approach to enforcement. “They should have never reduced the number of random inspec-

FIRM FINED FOR VIOLATIONS SWIFT CURRENT — A drywall company based in Medicine Hat, Alberta has been fined after pleading guilty to two counts under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. On February 2, Gyp-Tec Drywall Inc. was fined $16,800 for failing to notify the Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety’s oh&s division, as soon as reasonably possible, of an accident at a workplace and failing to ensure that workers used a fallprotection system at a work area where they could fall three metres or more. Charges were laid after an incident occurred in May 2013. A worker was texturing the ceiling of a two-story house in Swift Current, Saskatchewan when the worker fell from the second floor, sustaining serious injuries.

MAN KILLED AT ALUMINUM PLANT VAUGHAN — A male worker has died, and a second sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, following an industrial accident at an aluminum plant in Vaughan, Ontario on March 1. A rack containing window frames

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tions in the first place,” Hubich says. “I have no doubt in my mind that workplaces are more dangerous, that employers are cutting corners and that workers are more vulnerable.” Hubich is concerned that some employers are not reporting accidents properly and encouraging employees to stay at work with lighter duties, to avoid higher Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) premiums. Carr claims that workplace injuries in Saskatchewan have decreased. “In those workplaces where we have focused our attention on the target initiative, we have achieved a 22 per cent reduction year over year in injury rate.” But Hubich says he has no confidence that worker safety is a priority for the deputy minister. He also charges that enforcement of workplace-safety standards is lacking. “I see nothing but the watering down of occupational health and safety standards by this government.” Carr says that while random inspections will increase, the ministry will continue to invest the majority of its resources on the workplaces with the most injuries. “We did an analysis based on 2013 WCB statistics and determined that 86 per cent of Saskatchewan workplaces were injury-free that year. We said our attention should really be focused on the 14 per cent of workplaces that are having an injury experience.” — By Jeff Cottrill

came loose and fell onto the two workers at Toro Aluminum, which manufactures window walls and doors for office buildings, condominiums and hotels, the Ontario Ministry of Labour reports. Emergency medical services were dispatched immediately, and responders tried unsuccessfully to revive one of the men, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man was airlifted to a Toronto hospital with critical injuries. York Regional Police responded to the incident that day. The fire brigade and a coroner also attended the accident scene, the police department says in a statement issued following the incident. The labour ministry dispatched an inspector to the scene immediately. The investigation is ongoing.

TRAINING MISHAP CLAIMS ONE HANOVER — A firefighter-in-training has died after he was submerged under ice during a training exercise on the Saugeen River in Hanover, Ontario. Ministry of Labour spokesperson William Lin says that Herschel Rescue Training Systems was conducting a coldwater-rescue training exercise on February 8, when the student became trapped under ice. The Hanover Fire and Emer-

gency Services Department identified him as 30-year-old Adam Brunt. Brunt was training with 11 other students and one instructor. Each of the 13 people floated down a channel of fastflowing water on the partially frozen river in quick succession. When the final person came through, they realized that one person was missing. Brunt had been enrolled in Durham College’s one-year firefighter pre-service, education and training course. The labour ministry and Hanover Police Services are investigating the accident. The fatality came a little over five years after a similar incident on the St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ontario. On January 30, 2010, Gary Kendall, 51, was participating in an cold-water-rescue training exercise conducted by Point Edward Fire & Rescue when he became trapped under ice. The 16-year veteran of the Point Edward fire department was trapped underwater by a large ice floe and died the next morning.

CHANGES TO ANIMAL RESCUES KAWARTHA LAKES — Kawartha Lakes Fire & Rescue Service has changed its policy regarding rescuing animals that have fallen through ice into the water in

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early spring and late fall. Firefighters were informed that they would no longer be permitted to rescue deer that had fallen through broken ice, nor would they be allowed to break through ice to rescue trapped animals. Fire Chief Mark Pankhurst told local media on February 23 that the practice is too dangerous for the rescuers. The announcement follows a recent incident in which a firefighter in Hanover, Ontario, was swept under ice and killed during a cold-water-rescue training session. Kawartha Lakes firefighters may still attempt rescues of deer that slip on unbroken ice and have difficulty getting up, but only if the ice can support the weight of all responders.

rennes, Quebec. Kronos Canada, which creates a whitening agent called titanium dioxide, estimates that about three cubic metres of TiCl4 spilled in its production unit. A statement from the company says there were no injuries or contamination to employees and that the situation was soon under control. “Kronos Canada has implemented all usual environmental emergency and

safety rules and procedures,” the statement says. The company adds that it is working with authorities to take appropriate measures to protect the community and environment.

MINISTERS THREATENED QUEBEC CITY — Members and employees of the Quebec provincial cabinet

SUMMIT ON TRAUMATIC STRESS TORONTO — The Summit on Work-Related Traumatic Mental Stress brought together representatives from government, healthcare, social services, corrections, police and fire services came together on March 5. The summit, entitled Roundtable on Traumatic Mental Stress: Ideas Generated, allowed professionals to discuss ways to reduce the effects and stigma of traumatic mental stress in the workplace. “The lessons learned and best practices shared here will propel sectors in which traumatic mental stress is prevalent to implement cultural and organizational change, with an emphasis on prevention, making workplaces healthier and safer,” provincial Labour Minister Kevin Flynn says in a statement. The summit included an opening address by former lieutenant-general Roméo Dallaire and talks by experts on innovative approaches to the issue of work-related traumatic mental stress. A backgrounder from the ministry notes that Ontario will be investing $4.4 million into resources to address operational stress injuries for Ontario Provincial Police officers.

CHEMICAL LEAK AT PLANT VARENNES — Several homes in the Montreal area were temporarily evacuated on the morning of March 21, after a leak of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) occurred in the chloride process unit of a pigment-manufacturing plant in Vawww.ohscanada.com

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have suffered a temporary scare, following several mysterious mail deliveries. On March 5, envelopes containing suspicious white powder and threatening notes were sent to the riding offices of four cabinet ministers. Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel’s office in Roberval, north of Quebec City, received the first envelope at around 10:00 a.m. that morning. The other envelopes went to the offic-

es of International Aid Minister Christian Paradis, Small Business Minister Maxime Bernier and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney. The offices were evacuated and three employees were sent to hospital as a precautionary measure. An analysis of the powder showed it was harmless. “We won’t be intimidated by this,” Lebel says in a statement. “We don’t get into politics to be threatened, to have our

employees put at risk.” The incidents occurred on the same morning that the Quebec national assembly received a hoax bomb threat.

MAN FIRES SHOT AT BUS HALIFAX — The Halifax Regional Police is investigating a report that an unidentified man may have fired a shot at a Metro Transit bus shortly after midnight on March 18. The bus driver told police that the suspect, who was driving a red or burgundy truck with a yellow light on the roof, had cut off the bus at a roundabout, before pulling over by the curb. The transit driver then heard what sounded like a gunshot from the car at the bus. The report describes the alleged shooter as a white male in his 30s, who was wearing a yellow vest, dark pants and a jacket at the time. The truck reportedly had a salt spreader at the back and a yellow plow at the front. Police officers checked the area where the offence had taken place, but did not find the suspect. The investigation continues.

FISHER DROWNS OVERBOARD CLARKS HARBOUR — A 64-year-old fisherman has been killed in an apparent accident while hauling lobster pots off the coast of Cape Sable Island. According to local RCMP reports, the boat captain was working with two other fishers on March 9, when the trawl line became tangled with the hauler. As the man tried to free the line, it entangled him and pulled him overboard. Although the victim was wearing a personal floatation device, he died of his injuries after another fishing boat, which was responding to a distress call, pulled him out of the water. “My heart goes out to this man’s family, friends and loved ones,” Nova Scotia’s Minister of Labour and Advanced Education Kelly Regan says. “I want to assure them that our investigators will help find out why this happened, and I hope, in some way, this provides them some comfort.” The RCMP and the oh&s division of Nova Scotia’s Ministry of Labour are investigating the incident. This is the first fishing fatality in the province this year, the ministry says in a statement.

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ASBESTOS COMPLAINT AT FEDERAL BUILDING OTTAWA — Recent concerns regarding asbestos at a federal building in Ottawa may have been resolved years ago, according to a union leader representing employees at the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC)owned building in Ottawa. “Yes, there were certainly issues,”says Marc Briere, the first national vice-president of the Union of Taxation Employees. “And corrective measures have been taken.” Asbestos has always been present at the building, but he says workers were aware of it, although he could not say since when. A CBC News report says former electrician for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Denis Lapointe, suffered adverse health effects during his 16-year employment at the building, which he believes were caused by asbestos exposure. Lapointe claims his employer withheld information, such as potential hazardous exposures and his own medical records. Lapointe uncovered, through Access-to-Information requests, documents that he believes back up his claims. The Ontario Ministry of Labour confirms that a health and safety officer is investigating an asbestos complaint. Briere believes that some of the asbestos in the building at 875 Heron Rd. has been treated and removed and some of it encapsulated to protect workers. “I don’t have the details, but I see multiple reports on actions that have been taken by the employer CRA and Public Works.”

Briere says the co-chair of the health and safety committee has no concerns with the building’s air quality and that a management plan ensures the safety of employees. But he admits that removal of asbestos is always the best solution. It is common for asbestos to be present in a building this old, PWGSC notes. “That is why PWGSC commissions third-party reports on a yearly basis. These reports help identify new areas where asbestos may pose a risk,” says Annie Trepanier, media and public-relations manager for PWGSC in Gatineau, Quebec. When issues are raised, PWGSC informs the tenants and the health and safety committee, she adds. An asbestos-management plan is also updated to ensure workers are aware of the location of asbestos. The ministry says it follows an asbestos-abatement and -encapsulation program, which includes securing access to areas containing asbestos that may pose a risk, indicating its presence through signage and undertaking repairs or the removal of asbestos. The union is meeting with the CRA and the investigating safety officer in the coming weeks to find out more. “We are looking into it very seriously, and we are trying to make sure that we get all the answers to reassure our people. The employer is fully aware of the importance of the situation,” Briere says. — By Carmelle Wolfson

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COMP BOARD RATING IMPROVES CHARLOTTETOWN — Satisfaction with the Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island (WCB) has reached an all-time high, with the WCB achieving a performance rating of 73 per cent in 2014. The WCB reports in a statement issued on February 12 that more than 500 injured workers participated in the survey conducted by an independent research company last fall. Similar studies have been conducted every two years since 2002, and the results this time show that the majority of WCB clients are satisfied with their overall experience with the board. Among the results was a notable improvement in satisfaction with workers’ first contact with the board, rising from 63 per cent in 2012 to 78 per cent in 2014.

PROJECTS TACKLE DITCHING ST. JOHN’S — The Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) is investing $350,000 in two projects to help workers survive helicopter ditching or abandonment in water. The projects, related to escape exits and survival skills, are being undertaken by Falck Safety Services Canada, with funding from RDC and Petroleum Research Newfoundland and Labrador. The announcement on January 20 came nearly six years after a Cougar Helicopters’ Sikorsky S-92A attempted to land off the coast of St. John’s, claiming the lives of 17 of the 18 passengers. The first project seeks to identify the specific human-factor requirements to open a Sikorsky S-92 push-out emergency escape exit. The findings could provide critical health and safety components needed for future training guidance. The second project will investigate the effect of wave patterns on optimal training conditions and how escape and survival skills are acquired. “This research will provide valuable incremental information to trainers, safety and survival manufacturers and regulatory bodies,” RDC chief executive officer Glenn Janes says in a statement. “The outcomes could also be applicable globally, in terms of future underwater escape training and exit design.” A senior research scientist with Falck Safety Services Canada in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, says researchers will be

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collecting three-dimensional motion capture, electromyography data, real-time biometrics and difficulty ratings from 50 participants completing egress trials in both wet and dry environments. The projects are expected to be completed by March 31.

TRAINING PROGRAM REVISED ST. JOHN’S — The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador (WHSCC) has revised oh&s training based on feedback from industry, training providers and safety associations. The certification training program for oh&s committees and worker health and safety representatives will come into effect on July 1. The new training program will be shorter, with a minimum of 14 hours, and has been condensed into one course for both oh&s committees and representatives, the WHSCC says in a statement issued on February 2. The program content will also be updated to include a practical component, reflect new legislation, introduce case studies and use new training materials. Once participants have completed the new program, they will need to renew their certification every three years. The WHSCC says the training that many oh&s committee members have already completed will continue to be valid for a period of time. Those who have already completed the existing training program have until June 30, 2018 to re-certify. Tom Mahoney, executive director of worker services with the WHSCC, says it is important to offer training to oh&s committees to make them aware of their responsibilities. Training for oh&s com-

mittees is now available province-wide from more than 95 training providers.

HEALTHY EATING PROMOTED ST. JOHN’S — The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has teamed up with the Dietitians of Newfoundland and Labrador to raise awareness of healthier eating habits on the job, in observance of March as Nutrition Month. This year’s theme, “Eating 9-5!”, highlights common cravings and better choices for the five most challenging times in a typical employee’s workday, which include rushed mornings, meetings and events, lunch, midday slumps and the commute home. “As an employer, the provincial government recognizes the importance of living a life that balances home and work,” Ross Wiseman, Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat, says in a statement. “A major component of that healthy balance is ensuring we eat nutritious foods throughout the day.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada Many of the preceding items are based on stories from our sister publication, canadian

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DISPATCHES

Standardized testing for crane operators developed By Carmelle Wolfson

ifting heavy objects by crane can be treacherous work. But a group comprising employers and labour has recently developed a voluntary, Canada-wide demonstration-of-skills test (DOST) for mobile-crane operators, which it says will improve worksite safety. “We want to develop a national, mobile-crane operator DOST based on existing best practices, both nationally and internationally,” says Lionel Railton, the Canadian director of the International Union of Operating Engineers, a labour group that has advocated for a national DOST for more than 20 years. “Ideally, for jurisdictions currently using a DOST, it would be adopted and used going forward,” explains Railton, who is also the chair of the project committee developing the national DOST for mobile-crane operators. For jurisdictions not currently using a DOST, the standard could be used in the introduction of their activities. A DOST is a practical assessment that requires the candidate to perform a particular task, or set of tasks, to demonstrate competence before working on a job site. A survey of tradespeople, employers, educators and labour representatives from the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship has identified a DOST as “the single most important form of assessment”, according to a statement issued by the project committee on February 10. The project committee held its second meeting in Toronto in March, which was attended by a working group of industry experts. Consultation with industry stakeholders is set for mid-year. The committee is led by the Asia Pacific Gateway Skills Table, in cooperation with the Canadian Hoisting and Rigging Safety Council. Several provinces currently offer mobile-crane operator training programs that include theory testing, practical assessment, certification and Red Seal endorsement. But provincial standards and methods vary, which leads to a fragmented approach to skills testing, the committee claims. This can create problems, including heightened safety risks on the worksite. As well, since crane operators are not expected to demonstrate their competencies in a consistent manner, they may perform lifts incorrectly.

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Other negative effects stemming from the lack of standardized testing cited by the committee are as follows: • Restricted labour mobility: Available crane operators cannot travel to another province for work, due to jurisdictional requirements to meet a specific DOST standard; • Increased red tape: Employers must continually demonstrate competencies of new workers; • Liability risk: Employers in jurisdictions without compulsory practical assessment criteria shoulder increased liability for ensuring their workers’ competencies; and • Additional costs: When a crane does not operate, it affects the rest of the site operations significantly. Employers incur costs due to project delays when a crane operator is unavailable to do the job. The committee has published on its website the first draft of its report on mobile-crane DOSTs. Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of

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Rehab centre breeding “culture of fear”: union By Jeff Cottrill

union representative has gone public with allegations of poor conditions at WorkSafeNB’s Rehabilitation Centre in Grand Bay-Westfield, New Brunswick. National Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) representative Michael Davidson told CBC News on February 26 that employees at the Centre were afraid to speak out on behalf of injured workers, due to concerns that they would lose their jobs. Davidson also claimed there were safety concerns at the Centre, citing a recent incident in which local police had arrested a man there for possessing a weapon and threatening staff at the facility. There had been no investigation of the incident since, he said. Davidson did not respond to requests for an interview by press time. But WorkSafeNB president and chief executive officer Gerard Adams says that the organization does not support Davidson’s claims and he does not believe the majority of employees do either. “A 2014 exit survey with clients at our rehabilitation centre indicated an overall satisfaction level of 86.4 per cent,” Adams claims. “In our 2014 staff-satisfaction survey, which is anonymous and administered by an external agency, staff engage-

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ment rated at 95 per cent, with 91 per cent of respondents saying they felt comfortable and safe at their workplace.” Overall satisfaction, he adds, was also at 91 per cent. According to Adams, WorkSafeNB seeks feedback from all employees on all aspects of its business. “We count on their expertise and respect it. Their input results in continuous improvements to our benefits, programs and services.” Davidson is not the first party to cast a critical eye on the rehabilitation centre. A report, issued by the Support Team for Injured Workers and Families in New Brunswick last March, claims that the facility has a poor reputation. “It appears that there is a pervasive and quite negative perception of the Grand Bay rehabilitation centre itself, amongst many injured workers,” the report reads. “Some injured workers even went to the extreme of comparing Grand Bay to Fort Knox and concentration camps… Some shared with us that they had suicidal thoughts as a result of their stay there.” The report adds that some injured workers find their treatments and exercises more hurtful than helpful. Workers who refuse to undergo painful rehabilitation techniques are considered “uncooperative.” Adams says that WorkSafeNB is proud of the work that it does on behalf of New Brunswick’s workforce. “We believe our staff are the very best at what they do, and we appreciate their commitment to making our province one of the safest in which to work in Canada.” Jeff Cottrill is editorial assistant of

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Harsher penalties for attackers of transit workers By Carmelle Wolfson

lapping, hitting, shoving or spitting on a bus or taxi driver will soon become a crime akin to the assault of a police officer. Bill S-221, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Assaults Against Public Transit Operators), which received Royal Assent in the House of Commons on February 25, allows judges in Canada to impose stricter penalties on those convicted of assaulting transit operators. The Act amends the Criminal Code of Canada to require a court to consider the fact that the victim of an assault is a public-transit operator to be an aggravating circumstance for the purposes of sentencing. All workers who “operate a vehicle used in the provision of passenger transportation services” are included in the amendments. The bill was first introduced in the House of Commons on September 26, 2014 by Conservative Member of Parliament Corneliu Chisu (Pickering-Scarborough East). Chisu says

the legislation will enable judges to impose tougher sentences on those seeking to harm public-transit operators. “Not only does it protect the transit operators at their place of work, but also the public who place their trust and lives in the hands of our transit operators each and every day,” Chisu says in a statement issued by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), following the passing of the bill. The union represents more than 10,000 transit workers in Toronto and York Region. Labour groups representing public-transit workers are also applauding the legislation as a victory. “We are all singing a sigh of relief out here that this has passed,” says Nathan Woods, president of Unifor Local 111, which represents 3,700 transit operators in the Metro Vancouver area. “They are safer, we are safer, with that person in jail longer now.” In 2013, 2,000 assaults were reported against transit workers across the country; 134 of those involved transit employees in Vancouver, Woods notes. The legal changes will cover not only public transit operators. Drivers of taxis, subways, streetcars and school buses and anyone operating a vehicle to transport people will be included in the legislation. Cabbies are particularly at risk, with a mortality rate higher than that of police officers in Canada. “We feel very lucky that this bill covers not just transit operators,” Woods says. For years, Unifor, the ATU and the British Columbia Federation of Labour have been pushing for tougher sentences for perpetrators of violence against transit employees. President of ATU Local 113 Bob Kinnear welcomes the recent changes, but says he thinks the legislation should cover even more job titles. “It is disappointing that some transit workers are excluded from this additional protection,” Kinnear says in a statement from the ATU issued on February 16, the day that the bill passed Third Reading in the House. “Collectors have been threatened with guns and even shot and wounded. It was a collector, Jimmy Trajewski, who was stabbed to death while on the job at Victoria Station in 1995,” Kinnear adds. Transit workers have also been punched, slapped, kicked, strangled, stabbed and shot at, he notes. “Several of our members have been hurt so badly that they cannot return to work and are forced to live the rest of their lives on inadequate workers’ compensation payments. If there is such a thing as injustice, this is it.” But punitive measures can only go so far. In recognition of this, unions and transportation companies are taking additional efforts to address the issue. Coast Mountain Bus Company and B.C. Transit in British Columbia are working with WorkSafeBC on a pilot project to install safety barriers around bus drivers. Unifor Local 111 has also introduced a violent-incident-prevention program for train workers. www.ohscanada.com

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Guidance provided on body-worn cameras By Jason Contant

new guide to help law-enforcement agencies develop policies and procedures governing the use of bodyworn cameras (BWCs) is now available. Following increased use of BWCs by law-enforcement officers, the federal privacy commissioner, personal-information-protection ombudsmen and commissioners in each province and territory issued the guidelines on dealing with privacy matters associated with the cameras on February 18. The resource calls on law-enforcement authorities (LEAs) to evaluate whether the expected benefits outweigh the effect on privacy and personal information before introducing a program on recording devices worn on an officer’s uniform, glasses or helmet. “Apart from requirements under personal-informationprotection statutes, the use of BWCs can implicate other obligations of which LEAs need to be aware,” says the document from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. “For example, BWCs can record video images, sound and conversations with a high degree of clarity. Microphones may be sensitive enough to capture not only the sounds associated with the situation being targeted, but also ambient sound that could include the conversations of bystanders.” The guideline recommends completing a privacy-impact assessment, which could include such items as secondary uses of BWCs. “If use of recordings is contemplated for any purposes that are supplementary to the main BWC program purposes — for example, officer training, research or performance evaluation — these secondary purposes need to be reviewed to ensure compliance with applicable legislation, and employees need to be well-informed of them,” the guideline says. “In addition, criteria should be established to limit the privacy impact, such as blurring of faces and any identifying marks, and excluding recordings with sensitive content.” The document also highlights a number of other issues, including the following: responses to breaches; the use of video analytics; continuous versus intermittent recordings; and proper safeguards, retention, destruction and storage of recordings. Jean Chartier, president of the Commission d’accès à l’information du Quebec in Quebec City, says that while his organization has not yet received any information regarding BWCs in the province, police forces in Quebec may decide to adopt them in the future. As such, Chartier recommends the development of measures to ensure the confidentiality of personal information collected, as well as those 22

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to eliminate or mitigate the effect on citizens. In a statement, Anne Bertrand, the Access to Information and Privacy Commissioner of New Brunswick in Fredericton, says she believes that “body-worn cameras used for police enforcement will quickly become the norm in Canada, as it has been shown that there are many positives for both public safety and police conduct with the use of such devices.” For this reason, “it is incumbent upon my colleagues and I to offer good guidance to police forces on the best practices when equipped with these recording devices: Remain mindful of citizens’ privacy while carrying out your duties,” she stresses. Jason Contant is former editor of

pipeline.

New rules for transporting dangerous goods By Jeff Cottrill

ransport Canada (TC) has introduced new legislation designed to make railway companies more accountable for accidents involving the transportation of dangerous goods. It has also initiated new regulations for Safety Management Systems (SMS). The Safe and Accountable Rail Act, which will go into effect on April 1, creates a new liability and compensation system for federally-regulated railways. This includes minimum insurance requirements, a compensation fund financed by levies on crude-oil shippers, increased provisions regarding information sharing and enhanced oversight by TC inspectors. Federal transport minister Lisa Raitt announced the amendments to the Canada Transportation Act and Railway Safety Act in the House of Commons on February 20. “The Government of Canada continues to make the safety and security of Canadians a top priority,” Raitt says in a statement issued by TC on that day. “This new legislation will improve railway safety and strengthen oversight, while protecting taxpayers and making industry more accountable to communities.” On February 25, the Railway Safety Management System (SMS) Regulations, 2015 was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. These updated regulations are a response to recommendations in the Auditor General’s report from November 2013. Included among the changes are provisions to deal with scheduling and employee fatigue and to allow workers to report safety concerns to superiors without fear of reprisal. Federal opposition critic for transport, NDP Member of Parliament Hoang Mai (Brossard-La Prairie), says the updated legislation and regulations are a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to ensure that railways and their employees follow these rules. “Some of the regulations were long overdue,” Mai says, “in terms of improving SMSs, especially when we

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looked at keeping the railway companies accountable.” While railway companies now have more obligations, he says, nothing is in place to guarantee that TC will enforce them via competent inspectors and auditors. “Rails are not being inspected properly, and that is a concern that we have regarding inspections. Does Transport Canada have enough resources to make sure that inspections are being done?” Mai questions. Another key issue is the use of CTC-111A (also known as DOT-111) tank cars, which have been deemed inadequate for carrying dangerous goods, due to their tendency to puncture during derailments. Last year, TC issued a protective direction to phase out all CTC-111A cars built before January 2014, but the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deemed the new standards to be insufficient as safety measures. Transport Canada introduced the Safe and Accountable Rail Act less than a week after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames near Gogama, Ontario. The TSB’s investigation has revealed that the train’s 100 CTC-111A tankers met the new TC standard, but still “performed similarly” to those involved in the Lac-Mégantic disaster in July 2013. “DOT-111 tankers are still not safe enough, and we have seen it with accidents happening. So there is a big concern on that front,” Mai charges. In a statement following Raitt’s announcement, the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) states that it supports the government’s intentions to have more stakeholders share responsibility for rail accidents involving dangerous goods such as crude oil, but expresses concern that these changes do not cover the goods that could cause the most damage. “We are pleased with the government’s efforts to ensure that victims are compensated,” RAC president and chief executive officer Michael Bourque says. “However, the regime can be improved by including other dangerous goods — such as chlorine — in the compensation fund right away.” The RAC adds that the Canadian rail sector has made efforts to improve safety, transparency and emergency preparedness since Lac-Mégantic, while working with governments and other parties to develop new safety regulations.

Caregivers in oilsands paying steep price: report By Jason Contant

ive-in caregivers in northern Alberta’s oilsands region help ease work-life stresses for families in the intensive environment, but do so at great personal and financial costs, a new study suggests. Led by sociologist Sara Dorow, Live-in Caregivers in Fort McMurray: a Socioeconomic Footprint, finds that foreign live-

in caregivers providing child or adult care face many challenges, including unpaid overtime, underpayment and illegal or poor working conditions. The study’s findings are based on an online survey involving interviews with 56 temporary foreign workers living and working in dwelling units in and around Fort McMurray under the federal Live-in Caregiver Program. The survey also garnered qualitative information from individual interviews and focus groups with caregivers conducted between 2008 and 2014. The study was estimated to have captured approximately 10 per cent of the local live-in caregiver program. The second most important reason cited for changing employers while working in Fort McMurray was illegal or poor working conditions. Of those participants surveyed, 18 per cent reported receiving less than Alberta’s prevailing gross hourly wage; 20 per cent said they were not paid or were only occasionally paid for overtime hours and worked an average of 10.4 overtime hours a week. “Residents of Fort McMurray work the longest hours in the country, often on rotational shifts,” says Dorow, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. “Live-in caregivers help to make the oilsands work regime sustainable by absorbing some of its stresses. At the same time, they experience stresses of their own, including the uncertainties of both the oilsands economy and the foreign-worker policies coming out of Ottawa.” The study notes that residents of Fort McMurray have the longest hours in the country, with residents who work 50 hours or more a week accounting for 32 per cent of the population, compared to only 17 per cent at the national level. On a weekly basis, live-in caregivers work 53.7 hours on average and tend to work more when one or both of their employers are at the site. “Long and variable working hours combine with high mobility and turnover to contribute to both social opportunities and social stresses, including shortages of time for volunteering, leisure, family and daily care activities,” the study says. “Live-in caregivers in Fort McMurray have sacrificed substantial financial savings and long years without their own spouses and children to work for families in the oilsands region. The opportunity to immigrate is what keeps them going.” Other findings from the study include the following: • The majority of live-in caregivers (88 per cent) were female and came from the Philippines; • Eighty-two per cent were between 25 and 44 years of age; • Seventy per cent of participants invested between $4,000 and $8,999 each to move to work in Canada, while each of their employers spent about $3,000; and • Cold weather, limited social activities, homesickness and cultural adjustment were key challenges. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

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BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

Canada’s mining industry accounts for nearly half of the world’s mining and mineral-exploration activity. But who holds Canadian operations abroad accountable when workplace-safety violations occur, and what standards are they required to live up to? of foreign workers and changes to Canada’s corporate social responsibility strategy are throwing a spotlight on the way our extractive sector does business abroad.

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icture a mining operation in which employees work in temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius. The six-day work week consists of 13-hour shifts, beginning at 6 a.m. with only a two-hour break. Sometimes, employees work until midnight. Workers who are considered disobedient are threatened with imprisonment, tied up and left in the sun for an hour or ordered to roll in hot sand, while being beaten with sticks until they lose consciousness. Adverse work conditions have even led to one worker dying of dehydration. These are the gruelling conditions that three workers allegedly endured at the Canadian-owned Bisha Mine in Eritrea before fleeing the country, according to a statement of claim in a lawsuit filed last November. The mine is operated by Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources Inc. Eritrean plaintiffs Gize Yebeyo Araya, Kesete Tekle Fshazion and Mihretab Yemane Tekle are seeking damages for forced labour, slavery, torture, degrading treatment and crimes against humanity. The case, which is being brought under international law and British Columbia common law, could be the first to be heard in Canadian courts involving alleged labour abuses by a Canadian operation located abroad. In the past, a handful of cases have been brought against Canadian companies operating on foreign soil for human-rights violations, but no such cases have ever gone to trial. “Litigation in Canadian courts is not easy. It is a very long process, it can be very difficult for victims and there is certainly no guarantee of a victory at the end of the day,” says Matt Eisenbrandt, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the Nevsun suit and a legal director at the Canadian Centre of International Justice in Vancouver. The fees associated with international cases can also be phenomenal. “There is a need for better remedies and for people to be able to have access to not just Canadian courts, but to other avenues,” he adds.

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“One of the problems that we have in Canada currently is that there is no real regulation of the operations of Canadian companies abroad,” Eisenbrandt says. “The system set up in Canada right now and put forward by the Canadian government is one of voluntary practices and voluntary principles of the companies. And so, as a result, there just isn’t a set system to provide any kind of remedy at all to people abroad who might have been through labour abuses.” Workplace injuries and fatalities at mining operations internationally remain issues of concern, as can be seen from information gathered by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), a London, United Kingdom-based lobbying organization for the mining and metals industry. Among the 20 ICMM member companies that provided workplace statistics, 90 fatalities were reported in 2012 and 91 in 2013. Meanwhile, 13,873 injuries were recorded in 2013, compared to 11,604 the previous year. To date, efforts by the federal government to hold Canadian mining companies abroad accountable for labour and human-rights abuses have been in vain. In 2009, Liberal Member of Parliament John McKay proposed the Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries, or Bill C-300, as a private member’s bill, which would have given the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of International Trade the power to issue guidelines on corporate accountability for mining, oil or gas activities. The government could also pull financial support if companies failed to comply. The bill never passed, but in March 2009, the Conservative government announced its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy for the Canadian international extractive sector. In October of that same year, the federal government appointed Marketa Evans as the first extractive sector CSR counsellor. This position was intended to help Canadian companies meet social and environmental responsibilities abroad through an advisory and dispute resolution role, based on international performance standards. It is not immediately apparent how CSR rules relate to occupational health and safety standards from the information provided on the Office’s website. But its endorsed standards — such as the Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability from the International Finance Corporation, a global development institution based in Washington, D.C. — includes Performance Standard 2 on labour and working conditions that speaks to workplace-safety standards. Another endorsed standard, the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has a section relating to employment and industrial relations, which states that enterprises should not discriminate against employees, should respect the rights of workers to form trade unions of their own choosing and ensure occupational safety in their operations. Through the CSR counsellor’s dispute-resolution mecha-

“There is no real regulation of the operations of Canadian companies abroad.” Nevsun denies all allegations. “We are confident that the allegations are unfounded,” Cliff Davis, the company’s president and chief executive officer, says in a statement issued on November 21, 2014. “Based on various company-led and third-party audits, the Bisha Mine has adhered at all times to international standards of governance, workplace conditions and health and safety. We are committed to ensuring that the Bisha Mine is managed in a safe and responsible manner that respects the interests of the local communities, workers, national governance, stakeholders and the natural environment.”

JUSTICE ACROSS BORDERS According to Eisenbrandt, foreign nationals who have suffered abuses at the hands of Canadian corporations are increasingly seeking remedy through Canadian courts, as existing regulations in this country are ineffective. He points to four other active lawsuits involving the operations of Canadian companies overseas. 26

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nism, workers or community members who have been negatively affected by Canadian companies abroad may submit complaints and engage in a mediation process. But critics point out that compliance with these standards is completely voluntary; either side could withdraw from the process at any point. And up until recently, there would be no repercussions for doing so. “It has always been legislation that has driven better corporate behaviour, so requirements in Canada under the Occupational Health and Safety Acts are the major drivers. Likewise for overseas, [legislation] is the main driver,” says Toronto-based Doug Olthuis, department leader on global affairs and workplace issues for United Steelworkers and a steering committee member of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability. CASE CLOSED? A good example of what critics say is wrong with the process is the complaint filed against Excellon Resources Inc. in 2010. It was brought to the Office of the CSR by workers at the company’s La Platosa Mine in Durango, Mexico, the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers of the Mexican Republic and ProDESC — a Mexican non-governmental organization that advocates for the economic, social and cultural rights of workers and community members. They claimed that workers were beaten by police after the company called authorities to investigate a theft at the mine, although the workers were ultimately not charged for the theft. According to the complaint, around the time that one worker died in an incident at the mine, employees attempted to unionize under the national miners’ union due to health and safety concerns, which included not being provided adequate safety training, equipment and discussion of safety protocols. The complainants alleged that workers suffered harassment for their efforts to unionize. Excellon responded at the time that there were no health and safety issues, nor a strain on labour relations, and that the national mining union was “illegal”. The company withdrew from the process, leaving the CSR counsellor with no choice but to close the case. Evans noted in her closing report that all of Excellon’s concerns had been met, the complaints against them were credible and the office did not find that the union was illegal. According to the report, the miners were unaware of the existence of a joint health and safety committee, or that they were even represented by a union when Evans visited Mexico in 2011. Brendan Cahill, president and chief executive officer of the company in Toronto, claims that the national mining union is “corrupt”, ProDESC is “not telling the truth” and that the organization misled Evans, who did not have all the facts. The workers at the mine “are entirely supportive of our operations,” Cahill alleges. Given the discrepancies in the accounts furnished by the two sides, it is not hard to see why Evans wanted

to address what she called in her closing report the “disconnects on worker/management relationships and health and safety issues” back in 2011. In February, United Steelworkers and MiningWatch Canada said they had obtained internal documents from Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), which provide evidence that the Canadian Embassy in Mexico assisted Excellon in suppressing labour protests at the mine by providing information to the company. GLOBAL OUTLOOK In many areas of the Global South, governments do not effectively regulate workplace safety. As a result, businesses operating in these countries can easily abuse their powers. Joe Drexler, head of strategic campaigns at the United Steelworkers and steering committee member of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance in Toronto, thinks that effective government regulation is unlikely to become a reality any time soon in many parts of the world. “Part of it has to do with the particular conditions of the country, the political situation. But part of it has to do also with the ability to have the resources to effectively regulate.” Beyond labour abuses, targeted murders of union leaders and anti-mining activists, gang rapes of community members and unlawful seizure of the lands of farmers and indigenous groups are just a few of the claims against mining operations in the Global South. “In countries like Honduras and Guatemala, we don’t even get a chance to get to the mining workers’ violations and harms, because the broader issues of violence, repression, forced eviction, contamination are just so overwhelming,” says Grahame Russell, director at Rights Action, a Toronto-based charity that funds community-controlled development, environmental, human-rights and emergency-relief projects in Central America and Mexico. Although health and safety violations, such as the reported $3.2 million penalty for breaching health and safety standards at Vancouver-based Goldcorp’s Cerro Negro mine in Argentina in 2013, often go unreported in Canada, Russell says he has heard many stories of miners getting sick, hurt or killed in connection with their work in Guatemala. But the workers themselves would not come out publicly in these cases, because

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Safety in the Pits Since the complaint against Excellon Resources Inc. was filed in 2010, labour allegations against the company have continued. Dante Lopez, coordinator of organizing processes at ProDESC, says that in the last four years there have been three worker deaths at the company’s La Platosa Mine in Mexico. Most recently, in January 2014, electrical supervisor Evaristo Nova Soto, 31, and general serviceman Jorge Carillo Rivera, 25, died from electrocution while working on a pump. Following the fatalities, safety inspectors visited the mine site nearly every month, according to Brendan Cahill, president and chief executive officer of the company in Toronto. “No significant kind of major issues were identified on our end regarding the accident,” he claims. Lopez says during one of those inspections, a worker who pointed out to the inspector that a piece of equipment needed replacing was later threatened by the manager. “It is the federal labour ministry that is responsible for carrying out these inspections, but the results are not made public, so that is a major issue,” he says from Mexico through a Spanish interpreter. Lopez suggests that this opens the door to the possibility of corruption. Despite this perceived lack of transparency, Excellon has no apparent plans to make the results of the workplace investigation public. “I am sure the results will be available through the STPS [Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare],” Cahill says. He adds that one of three workers injured in the 2014 incident is now on the health and safety team and the mine’s first-aid team recently won a safety competition. “If more workers had been trained in first aid and if this team was properly organized, perhaps there could have been a timely reaction so as to save the lives of these workers. Furthermore, if the workers themselves had been properly trained, the accident could have been avoided,” Lopez counters. He adds that health and safety training is not exhaustive and workers do not know how to use the machinery properly. A worker who operates machinery at the mine, and who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal, confirms these claims. The Excellon worker is also concerned about the lack of life insurance. Another issue he cites is poor ventilation, explaining that workers were overexposed to carbon monoxide on one occasion last year. According to Lopez, workers expressed their anger following last year’s fatalities, and Excellon responded by promising life insurance to all employees. They have yet to deliver on that promise, which Cahill says he cannot do until the union has been certified. Following the two deaths in 2014, there have not been any changes to health and safety processes or infrastructure in the mine, according to Lopez and the Excellon worker. “So it is as if nothing had happened,” Lopez says.

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the company would pay them off. “This is like shut-up money, and it has a bit of a threat behind it,” Russell suggests. In some cases, the workers employed by Canadian mining companies are the ones carrying out these human-rights abuses. For example, three workers who reportedly had links to Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration Ltd., including one who was employed by the company at the time, were charged for killing an anti-mining activist in Mexico in 2009. DOMINO EFFECT However, Olthuis thinks that the communities surrounding mines and the mining employees locked in battles against each other may actually have common interests. “In our experience in Canadian history, when you clean up the operations of a mining company in terms of environmental discharge, that has impacts both inside and outside the workplace,” he illustrates. “So when you make the environment better for the town, invariably, it improves the technology, improves the working conditions. And likewise, when you improve the working conditions inside the mine, it most often also has a beneficial impact outside.” There is also an economic impetus for mining companies to adopt high standards of corporate social responsibility and health and safety. Protests from surrounding communities can halt projects, and a bad corporate reputation can drive down shares. “When we started our campaign [against Excellon] four years ago, the share price went from the equivalent of about seven dollars a share to below a dollar today,” Olthuis claims. For Drexler, voluntary standards are critical in the absence of effective regulations. As a steering committee member of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, he is helping develop two standards — one on fair labour and work conditions and another on occupational health and safety that is based on the International Labour Organization’s Convention 176 on safety and health in mines. The project, which seeks to bring together mining companies, labour unions, non-governmental organizations and community groups, plans to send auditors to sites across Canada and anywhere in the world where they operate. The Conference Board of Canada has also granted $390,000 to the United Steelworkers Humanity Fund to train joint health and safety representatives and union leaders in Peru and provide hands-on training to Peruvian mine inspectors in Canada, Olthuis reports. “The history of the trade movement in Canada has given us some important expertise that may be applicable to other countries if we can find ways to kind of promote capacity building like this,” he says.

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From an industry perspective, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) is trying to support other countries in building safer workplace cultures, says Ben Chalmers, the association’s vice-president of sustainable development in Ottawa. The president of the MAC spoke at a safety conference in Turkey last December at the request of Canadian companies operating there, he reports. There have been two major accidents at Turkish mines over the last couple of years. Neither occurred at Canadian-owned operations, although Canadian companies offered assistance, Chalmers adds. SAVING FACE When the federal government reviewed its CSR strategy last year, the MAC provided recommendations, many of which were incorporated into Canada’s Enhanced CSR Strategy, announced last November. Chalmers says the new strategy sends an important message that the Canadian government will continue to promote and support its mining industry abroad, but has established expectations on how the industry should operate and conduct its business. “[It] has mechanisms in place now to address where the companies don’t meet those expectations.” With these changes, it appears that the federal government sees a greater interest in improving its public image. “Responsible resource development with our partners at home and abroad is a priority of the Harper government to create jobs and opportunities,” Minister of International Trade Ed Fast noted in a statement when the strategy was announced. The key aspects of the new strategy include referring disputes requiring formal mediation to the OECD’s Canadian National Contact Point (NCP), making Canada’s economic diplomacy conditional on a company’s alignment with the CSR guidelines by withdrawing support in foreign markets if a company chooses not to participate in dispute-resolution mechanisms, and increasing support and training for CSR initiatives and services at Canadian missions abroad. In line with the government’s “economic diplomacy” approach, Nicolas Doire, media relations officer with DFATD in Ottawa, says that services provided by the federal government include issuing letters of support, advocacy efforts in foreign markets and participating in government trade missions. Canadian companies that do not embody CSR best practices and refuse to participate in dispute-resolution processes contained in the CSR Strategy will no longer benefit from economic diplomacy of this nature. “While participation in these mechanisms remains voluntary, a decision by either party not to participate in Canada’s National Contact Point or the CSR Counsellor’s review processes will be made public,” Doire adds. Introducing similar consequences for companies with questionable practices was a major component

of Bill C-300 when it was first proposed in 2009. The government also announced the appointment of a new counsellor, Jeffrey Davidson, on March 1; the position had been empty since Evans resigned in October 2013. NO TEETH So does this mean that mining companies will have to meet higher performance standards from now on? “The devil is in the details,” says Shin Imai, counsel to the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project and associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Imai adds that it is good “in theory” that Canada is indicating that it will pull support from companies not following CSR guidelines, but he wonders how such decisions will be made. “If somebody in government is going to tell the trade mission or embassy in Mexico to withdraw support for a company, who is that individual? What kind of guidelines is that individual going to follow? What kind of investigation will there be to determine whether the company has violated these international CSR standards?” he questions. The inclusion of the NCP in the new strategy “doesn’t change anything,” Imai says, pointing out that even before the enhanced CSR strategy, one could always make a complaint to the NCP under the OECD guidelines. For example, in 2012, a second complaint was submitted to Canada’s OECD NCP about ongoing conflicts between workers associated with the national mining union and Excellon,

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“When you clean up the operations of a mining company in terms of environmental discharge, that has impacts both inside and outside the workplace.” following the failed attempt at resolution with the CSR counsellor. The complainants believed that the union representing the workers was beholden to the company’s management and that intimidation tactics were used against those attempting to unionize under the national miners’ union. Additionally, there were claims of bad faith from the local community from which the company had rented land. However, this complaint was passed on to the NCP in Mexico, who rejected it, and the matter is now before a Mexican agrarian tribunal. Olthuis stresses that it is necessary that claims be fully investigated and for judgements and recommendations to be issued following those investigations. “The CSR counsellor is essentially powerless,” he says. “The main thing that he or she can do is some kind of informal mediation. But mediation in these circumstances is usually very difficult, because by that time, you have got a company with a lot of resources and a lot of economic and political power in a mediation process with either workers or communities that have very few tools in which to balance the power of the company.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of

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SAFE SPACE

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At Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national broadcaster and within the halls of parliament, whispers have turned into public finger-pointing. Tales of employees abusing authority while engaging in sexuallycharged conduct towards co-workers have shocked the nation. How well are Canadian workplaces addressing the dangers of sexual harassment, which so often go unspoken?

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ew scandals have stunned and appalled Canada’s collective psyche as the Jian Ghomeshi story has. When several women publicly accused the popular CBC radio host of sexual assault last October, it spurred ample debate and soul-searching. How had our society allowed this to happen? Women had allegedly not been safe from Ghomeshi’s behaviour even at the workplace: at least three CBC employees have claimed that he verbally and/or physically harassed them — and that the company looked the other way. The scandal is not only being discussed around the office water cooler; it has made waves in the political arena as well. Less than two weeks after the story broke, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau fired Members of Parliament (MPs) Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti, following complaints of sexual harassment from female NDP MPs. Five days later, former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps publicly revealed that during her tenure as an Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), she had been assaulted by a fellow MPP in the legislature’s halls. Since then, the federal parliament has drafted a new internal policy for MPs. The House of Commons Policy on Preventing and Addressing Harassment, which went into effect on December 10, applies to all MPs, House Officers and their staff, as well as Research Office employees. It outlines new procedures for addressing sexual-harassment complaints from staff, with emphasis on maintaining confidentiality while respecting the rights of both complainants and respondents. Nycole Turmel, an NDP MP representing Hull-Aylmer, Quebec and the Chief Opposition Whip, says from Ottawa that parliament had no official policy or rules regarding sexual harassment for MPs prior to this one. “We have a collective agreement,” she notes about the federal NDP party. But for MPs in general, regarding harassment of other MPs or of their own staff, “there was nothing.” Although Turmel does not recall witnessing any inappropriate behaviour, she says there were rumours about incidents here and there. “So probably,” she says, “it was hidden more than anything else.” But since the initiation of the new policy, she claims that MPs and other Parliament Hill employees have

been noticeably more careful about their behaviour. There are more education sessions with the MPs and staff, she notes. Despite these changes, Turmel thinks there is still a long way to go. “I don’t think at all that we are there.” The Government of Ontario is also responding to the issue, both internally and publicly. On December 4, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced plans to make sexual-assault and sexual-harassment training mandatory for all ministers, MPPs and their staff, as well as employees of the Premier’s Office. Tracy MacCharles, provincial Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues in Toronto, has created a Roundtable on Violence against Women, consisting of safety and equality experts, to comment on the government’s plans. “I know it is a concern to people across Ontario,” says MacCharles about workplace-sexual harassment. “We are taking action to raise awareness of sexual violence and harassment, enhance prevention initiatives and improve supports for victims.” These initiatives have resulted in a government action plan, unveiled on March 6 — two days prior to International Women’s Day. In addition to investing $41 million over the next three years to combat sexual violence and harassment, the plan includes stronger workplace-safety legislation that, if passed, would require employers to investigate and address workplace-sexual harassment. “We will continue to work collectively as a government, and with employees and employers, to keep Ontario’s workplaces safe,” MacCharles says. WORDS, ACTIONS, GESTURES Last November, a nationwide poll by the Angus Reid Institute found that three out of 10 Canadians had received unwanted sexual advances or sexually-charged talk while at work or office functions; about one million Canadian workers had undergone these experiences within the previous two years. At the same time, 80 per cent of poll respondents said that they never reported such incidents, some of them feeling either that the incidents were too minor or that their employers would not respond, while others were too embarrassed or afraid of jeopardizing their careers.

The Best Policy Many years ago, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (GCGC) in Richmond, British Columbia had a significant number of complaints that were related to workplace harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination, says Sally Hart, executive director of human resources at GCGC. In 2004, the gaming and entertainment company adopted a policy for creating a respectful workplace, which it updated in 2013 to take Bill 14 — the province’s legislation on workplace bullying — into account. These days, Hart says, the company receives far fewer complaints. “Behaviour has adjusted accordingly, and these issues rarely arise.” Today, GCGC posts The Respectful Workplace: Discrimination, Harassment & Bullying Prevention Policy at its work

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locations in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. It also includes copies of the policy in its employee handbooks distributed to the company’s more than 4,000 workers. “It identifies within it the prohibited grounds of discrimination,” Hart explains, “talks about appropriate behaviours and incorporates a complaint process and the duty to report any variations from a respectful workplace, whether they involve you directly or indirectly.” Harassment can be addressed in a holistic fashion, starting with a commitment to workers’ health and safety, Hart suggests. “I think not only is that a legal requirement, but it is a really important cornerstone forming a cultural transformation. I think organizations, many times, will involve health and safety into wellness and safety.”

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ten

Sexual harassment comes in many forms, including verbal, physical and indirect methods. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) notes on its website that sexual harassment may involve unnecessary and unwanted physical contact, repeatedly asking for a date after refusal, using gender-specific derogatory names, making sexual jokes or sexrelated comments, requesting sex in exchange for a favour, bragging about one’s sexual prowess or sharing sexual or pornographic images. The Ontario Human Rights Code stipulates that everyone has the right to be free from unwanted advances or solicitation in employment situations — during not only paid work, but also internships, volunteer jobs, work-related social activities and job interviews. In Canada, equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and provisions under the Canada Labour Code prohibiting sexual harassment did not come into force until 1985. Even then, sexual harassment was not considered a form of discrimination until the Supreme Court deemed it so in 1989. The Labour Code now defines sexual harassment as “any conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offence or humiliation to any employee, or that might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by that employee as placing a condition of a sexual nature on employment or on any opportunity for training or promotion.” Many unions have their own specific policies. Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress in Ottawa, says that unions often share responsibility with their respective employers to deal with harassment complaints. “So if there was harassment,” Yussuff explains, “it would be jointly investigated both by the employer and the union together by having an investigative committee, and at the end of the day, their findings will be definitive. And then they would take whatever action management would require at that point.” Yussuff notes that the Labour Code’s approach to sexual harassment is outdated and needs revision. Division XV.1 of Part III, which covers the basic responsibilities of employers, has not been amended since 1985. “It has not evolved to reflect current reality, and I think the government and the ministers are certainly aware that we need to do that,” he says. But for workers in the federal jurisdiction, he adds, the Canadian Human Rights Act “has been fairly clear and precise about the applications of the employer to ensure the positive steps they need to take to make sure that their employees are not subject to harassment.” Some provincial legislation also attempts to tackle the is-

Three out of 10 Canadians had received unwanted sexual advances or sexually-charged talk while at work…

sue of sexual harassment. “When we think of health and safety, we automatically tend to think of dangerous equipment or hazardous chemicals and things like that,” notes Silmi Abdullah, program lawyer with METRAC, a Toronto-based organization that conducts safety audits to reduce workplace sexual violence and provides public education about violence against women and youths. “But actually, in 2010, the law changed to include violence and harassment as potential hazards within the workplace,” Abdullah says, referring to amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

POWER TRIPS Cheryl Otto, founder and chief executive officer of Ounce of Prevention Solutions Inc., a Vancouver-based firm that creates workplace policies regarding bullying and harassment, describes the two most common scenarios: The first situation involves a harasser who is attracted to the person, while the second one entails discrepancies in power. “Power comes in many different forms. It could be age, it could be position, it could be gender, it could be culture,” Otto says. “What we see is comments like, ‘If you do this, you are going to be okay here.’ Really, sort of inadvertent comments that would make the person believe that, ‘if I go with the flow, and I go with it, I’m going to be okay, I’m not going to lose my job.’” Power was very likely a factor in the Ghomeshi case, Yussuff observes. Public recognition can intimidate a fellow employee as much as office seniority can. “Ghomeshi was an employee of the CBC, but clearly, he was somebody with a lot of influence in the context of the workplace,” Yussuff notes. “If the person has the authority to use his or her position to really create some havoc in people’s lives, clearly, I www.ohscanada.com

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think, employers need to be conscious.” Jo-Ann Seamon, a senior lawyer with the Human Rights Legal Support Centre in Toronto, says that these issues have especially come into play in recent decades, as more women are entering companies and fields that were traditionally male-dominated. “Thirty years ago, the numbers were not the same of women in the workplace,” Seamon recalls. “I worked a lot with some correctional officers who were some of the first women in the federal sector. They were essentially harassed, and it wasn’t about sex, it was about power.” Male colleagues, she explains, were unhappy that women were now getting these wellpaying, secure positions in the prison system. “These women were not welcome, and so the workers made it really clear through really disturbing sexual harassment.” At the same time, she adds, such power dynamics usually depend on the atmosphere of the workplace itself. Behaviour that is tolerated in a prison, in construction or out in the oilfields, may not be tolerated in a formal office setting. Every workplace has its own culture, Otto says. “Sometimes, the lines of what is appropriate are a little bit longer, of what is acceptable. It may not be up to the standards of what our laws say, but what the culture is.” The organization itself must take efforts to create a respectful environment. “We all have to have policies nowadays,” Otto says. “But that is a piece of paper. We need to make sure that we put something behind the piece of paper.” BARRIERS TO REPORTING Through her work, Abdullah is familiar with the numerous obstacles that victims face when considering whether to report an incident or not. “Women tend to be more vulnerable, because they often hold lower-paying, lower-authority and lower-status jobs compared to men,” Abdullah points out. “So there might be fear of retaliation from the harasser or the fear of losing their jobs for making complaints.” Lack of knowledge about their legal rights and/or workplace policies and procedures on harassment might also discourage them, she adds. Some types of workers may be more susceptible than others. For example, those working in rural or remote areas could be isolated and might not have access to the same resources or support systems that urban workers have. In the case of temporary foreign workers on a farm, the employer may have control or possession of their immigration documents. “So there might be fear of reprisal — both through loss of employment and deportation — for reporting sexual 34

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harassment,” Abdullah suggests. Even bars, restaurants and nightclubs, which often employ women part-time as servers, are more vulnerable in their own ways. “These types of settings may not only have little job security, but they might lack clear guidelines on what constitutes sexual harassment because of the often sexualized nature of the work,” Abdullah adds. Complainants also frequently deal with opposition from employers and colleagues who do not believe the accusation or defend the accused employee. This is an additional burden — on top of having to relive the embarrassment or trauma of the incident — that may explain why so few workers report their harassment experiences. “Often, there is a sense of selfblame, so women might think that, ‘Oh, it’s my fault,’” Abdullah says. Although it is often assumed that sexual harassment exclusively affects women, it is worth noting that men are occasionally victims too. “Anyone can be a target of sexual harassment at work,” Abdullah says. “But statistics have shown that women are at high risk, especially young women.” Women are more than three times as likely to experience sexual harassment at work as men are, according to the Angus Reid poll. A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT When an accusation of sexual harassment occurs, the employer has a legal obligation to investigate the matter, says Dr. Kim Stanton, Ph.D., Toronto-based legal director with the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), an organization that advocates for equality in the law for Canadian women. “They have a responsibility to take a complaint seriously and to address it,” Dr. Stanton adds, “and it will depend very much on the size of the workplace, the degree to which things are formal. A larger workplace will very likely have a policy in place, with a procedure that sets out what will happen once a complaint is made.” Employers should note that one complaint may be the tip of the iceberg. “If an employee quits and the employer ends up being taken to the Human Rights Tribunal, for example, there can be a finding of liability on the part of the employer for not addressing a poisoned workplace environment.” It is in the employer’s best interest to conduct a thorough and timely investigation, she advises. “When a harasser is criminally charged, that doesn’t alleviate the employer’s responsibilities to investigate the employee’s claims.” In the case of sexual-assault allegations, Otto says, employers should also be aware that they have the responsibility

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to find out if there is a safety risk to other employees. Seamon notes that every company should have a strong complaints policy in place — one in which those who speak up feel safe while knowing that the process will work, will offer them options about how they would like to proceed and will keep them in the loop. She also stresses the importance of training and educating staff, particularly managers and supervisors, on creating a workplace that does not tolerate inappropriate conduct. Bringing in people with expertise for this purpose can be beneficial. “Sexual harassment, and other forms of harassment also, they can come in forms that we all don’t recognize immediately, and you need to make sure that they cover off all of those issues,” Seamon adds, referring to staff education. “It needs to start by making sure that those people actually are paying attention, and the way to do that is to make it part of their performance evaluations as managers,” she suggests, citing one instance in which managers at a large organization slept through sexual-harassment education sessions. Information from LEAF recommends that an office harassment victim should keep a written record of the incidents — including specific dates, times, locations, actions, conversations and names. This will help when the time comes to provide specific testimony. Taking note of bystanders who witnessed the inappropriate behaviour and who can provide assistance and support, also helps. Is it wise for harassment victims to confront their harassers directly? “It is so context-specific. It is very hard to know,” Dr. Stanton says. “Some policies do say that the first step is to tell the person exhibiting the behaviour to stop doing what they are doing, but if you are uncomfortable approaching the person harassing you, there is no legal obligation for you to approach them. Failure to do so does not affect how liability is attributed down the road.” While harassed employees should take action under the relevant policies and protocols of the company, they can also file a humanrights claim with a body such as the OHRC in Ontario. But Otto cautions that unless there is a criminal element to the behaviour — such as sexual assault or physical violence — there may not be a potent punishment against the perpetrator outside the office setting. Ounce of Prevention’s preferred solution is to have victims resolve harassment issues internally, if possible. “The other option is that the complainant says, ‘I can’t work here because it is so toxic, it is so poisonous, and no one is doing anything.’ So that could result in a constructive dismissal claim,” Otto explains. “But then that person has to prove their case, and the legal system is fairly lengthy, it is fairly expensive, it can be high-exposure with regard to media.” That is not to suggest that the legal system does not pull through occasionally. In September 2013, a transit inspector in Hamilton, Ontario received a $25,000 settlement for dam-

ages resulting from more than four years of lewd comments, pornographic e-mails and unwanted touching from her former supervisor. The judge raised the requested settlement from $5,000 because the company had gone to great lengths to try to discredit the employee’s complaints, such as hiring a computer expert to “prove” that she had forged the e-mails. Otto stresses that much of the time, the accuser’s goal in making a complaint is neither to punish the perpetrator nor to get a financial settlement, but merely to stop the inappropriate behaviour. By the time many clients come to see Otto, she says, they have already quit their jobs. “The vast majority are not still at their workplace, because they have made a choice about what they [have control over], usually about psychological and health and possible safety issues.” SEA CHANGE Some media commentators claim that Canada has a workplace “culture” of sexual harassment, but Otto believes that this is a broad generalization. “We do see it,” she says, referring to clients with workplace sexual-harassment complaints. “But I wouldn’t say it is the predominant type of issue.” Yussuff agrees. “The jurisprudence on sexual harassment, and harassment in general, in a workplace, has evolved considerably,” he says. “There is a general understanding that that kind of behaviour should not be acceptable. That does not mean it is not happening.” As the Ghomeshi case continues to move through the pre-trial stage, set to begin April 28, it is unclear whether the scandal will change how workplaces approach sexual harassment in this country. But Dr. Stanton appreciates that it has raised awareness about a serious and persistent problem. “The increased awareness may assist with how it is viewed in terms of understanding that it really is quite common and it does make a workplace a less equal place for women,” she says. “It may make employers get more vigilant with respect to handling the situations in their offices. Or at least, with any luck, it will prompt employers to become more aware of how they are supposed to react when they get a complaint in the first place.” Seamon also hopes that the Ghomeshi saga has a positive effect over the long run. “It is shedding light on the problem of under-reporting and women not being believed, and the assumption that women must be lying,” she says. But more needs to be done. “I think it requires people who have responsibility over these issues to really examine the assumptions we make when we hear about a complaint of that nature,” Seamon suggests. “Women need to be believed and taken seriously when they make these kinds of allegations.”

Women are more than three times as likely to experience sexual harassment at work.

Jeff Cottrill is editorial assistant of ohs canada.

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OIL AND GAS

refining RISKS the

< BY WILLIAM M. GLENN

When a fire or catastrophic release occurs at an oil refinery, the overt cause might be the failure of an overfill alarm or monitoring sensor, corroded piping, a poorly maintained pump or an outdated storage tank. Or, it might be simple human error. Typically, a combination of factors is at play. But dig beneath the techniis often a failure of the facilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fireprevention program and protocols. In almost every case, it appears that refinery fires are foreseeable and, therefore, preventable.

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cal explanations and the root cause

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< O

DRIVING SAFETY “These refineries are big complicated machines,” says Saskatoon-based Vic Huard, executive vice-president strategy for Federated Co-operatives Limited, of which the Co-op Refinery Complex is a wholly-owned subsidiary. “Accident and fire prevention is a matter of ongoing, diligent, hard work. You can’t take your foot off the pedal for a moment.” Modern refineries are largely self-contained, automated and closed processing systems. Exposure to highly flammable and hazardous feedstocks and refined products is minimized, primarily, by reducing worker interference. Operating 24/7, there may be only 200 or so workers onsite at any one time, many in supervisory and support roles. However, when a facility is shut down for regular scheduled mainte-

IMAGES: COBALT88 / ISTOCK / THINKSTOCK

n October 6, 2011, pipefitter Vasi Subramaniyam had just finished the Thanksgiving luncheon that the Co-op Refinery Complex had prepared for the entire crew. A lot of the guys were flying out of Regina early that afternoon, but his supervisor had asked him to stick around and finish testing some new piping they had installed. Subramaniyam had been working on contract at Co-op for just over two years and could use the extra cash to support his family. He cancelled his afternoon flight home to Toronto. He was up on the third deck with six other workers when the first explosion blew out the piping in one of the refinery’s distillate units below them. “There was this really loud boooom,” Subramaniyam says from his home in Toronto. “I thought maybe a crane had dropped a piece of heavy pipe or something. I looked up and saw this huge ball of flame rushing toward us.” The operating pressure in a heavily corroded effluent pipe had caused it to burst, according to an engineering report prepared by an independent consulting firm for the Regina Fire Department. As the highly flammable mix of hydrogen and diesel fuel gushed through the seven-inch rupture, the hydrostatic charge sparked one and then a series of four more explosions. Subsequent analysis found that recent process changes had created severely corrosive conditions within the piping — conditions that had gone undetected by the company’s monitoring program. After the first blast, Subramaniyam’s crew raced to the southeast corner of the platform and huddled behind the housing of a large fan. “Guys were screaming. I thought we were all going to die, until one fellow grabbed me and pointed north. We were running through the flames when a third explosion sent a fireball right through the place we had been hiding,” Subramaniyam recounts. Although Subramaniyam was protected by his coveralls, hard hat and goggles, he still suffered serious second-degree burns on the right side of his face. One member of his crew had a heart attack, he says, and the rest were treated for burns and smoke inhalation. A total of 52 workers at the refinery were injured that afternoon and 13 spent up to three weeks in hospital.

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nance, Huard says, up to 1,500 company and contract workers may be employed. Co-op used to be a relatively small refinery, Huard explains, but two rounds of expansion undertaken since the late 1990s have expanded the facility’s nameplate capacity to 145,000 barrels a day. Its primary business is refining gasoline and diesel fuel, but it also produces smaller quantities of synthetic crude, butane, propane, fuel oil and asphalt. “In January we hired our thousandth full-time employee, a staffing increase of 33 per cent over just the last five years,” Huard says. “Today, we are the fourth largest refinery in the country.” The company’s accident-prevention program has also grown, Huard adds. “Admittedly, we had some catch-up to do, but we have come a long way. The accident in October 2011 forced us to step back and take another long look at our safety programs and protocols.” He adds that over the last three years, the company has formalized its safety procedures in writing, completed integrity assessments of all its lines, undertaken risk-based assessments of all its process units, audited its corrosion testing and monitoring programs and better co-ordinated the activities of its process, inspection, maintenance and engineering teams. “We are taking a much more sophisticated, much more complex approach to incident prevention. We spend a lot of time making sure everyone is on the same page now,” Huard says. The company has also been working with consultants from Dupont Sustainable Solutions since 2009, updating and improving its process-safety-management plan to address process-hazard analysis, pre-startup safety, management of process changes, equipment integrity, worker training and performance, contractor safety and emergency and incident response, according to Huard. “Recent incidents aside, we have had a darn good safety record,” Huard claims. “In our minds, our commitment to health and safety protection and incident prevention is now a cultural priority.” SETTING THE BAR It appears that the Co-op refinery is catching up to the high safety standards set by the rest of the oil-refining sector in Canada. According to a factsheet published by the Canadian Fuels Association (CFA), which represents the downstream oil and gas sector, from large refineries to local gas retailers, “the safety record for the 15 refineries that our members operate is among the highest for all Canadian manufacturers.” Total recordable injuries for refinery, distribution and retail employees are down nearly 80 per cent since 2000, and the lost-time injury frequency rate of less than 0.10 per 100 full time workers is well below the averages seen in other heavy industries, the CFA reports. “From an historical perspective, safety can always be improved, but fires and major incidents are quite rare. Canadian oil refineries operate pretty close to incident-free,” says Bill Simpkins, spokesperson for the CFA in Ottawa. “Due to the volatile nature of the operations, safety is the top job. As a result, oil refineries typically appear at the top of the list of

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the safest Canadian industries and manufacturers.” When compared to other occupational safety threats in the average refinery, fire and explosion risks do not rank very high. According to data compiled by the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, of the 210 total lost-time injuries reported by petroleum refiners between 2011 and 2013, only seven or 3.3 per cent were caused by fire or contact with hot objects. While this is likely an underestimate — fire- and explosion-related injuries among contract personnel are likely captured in their respective employment categories — the statistics do show that falls, slips, trips, strains and exertion-related injuries predominate. “Generally, both the upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors have been doing an excellent job in preparing and implementing fire-prevention and other safety programs,” says Bruce Hertz, vice-president of business development for Emergency Response Management Consulting Ltd. in Edmonton. “You might work in a refinery for 35 years and never have a problem. It is all about properly understanding and managing risk.” Process-safety engineering has become a “highly specialized” and sophisticated discipline over the last 20 years, Hertz says. In designing or upgrading a refinery, engineers look for all the potentially flammable product streams and the possible ignition sources and do everything possible to eliminate contact between the two. “From a design and process standpoint, you segregate, relocate and enclose systems, eliminate human interference, and incorporate monitors, safety checks and back-up systems,” Hertz says. For example, one might decide to switch to a smaller batch-based process to limit the amount of dangerous product onsite at any one time. “You engineer safety into the process and engineer the risks out.” Once the design has been taken care of, an emergency-response protocol needs to be developed that takes into account potential scenarios, such as failing safeguards, hazardous material spills and fires. It could include the fire apparatus and gear needed, the amount of foam and water required, as well as training regimes, disaster exercises and refresher courses. It is detailed, painstaking work. “You have to ensure that your fire apparatus has the clearance it needs to reach a burning unit, that your workers have an alternative evacuation route if the primary “It is all one is blocked, and that your firefighting water reservoir about properly

understanding and managing risk.”

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ACCEPTED TIME-LOSS INJURIES IN THE REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS SECTOR, 2011 TO 2013

won’t freeze solid when the temperature drops to 40° below,” Hertz says. Finally, a fully-trained and attuned workforce is “absolutely critical” for ensuring the success of a fire-prevention program, Hertz says. “First, they must follow all operating procedures in accordance with the company’s stringent health and safety policies. And second, if they do see any variations, they must bring those forward to management so that they can be addressed,” he explains. VIGILANCE IS RELIGION Suncor operates oil refineries in Sarnia, Ontario, Commerce City, Colorado, Edmonton and Montreal. “Our frontline workers certainly play a key role in the success of our fireand emergency-prevention program,” Suncor spokesperson Nicole Fisher says from Calgary. Many of the refinery’s personnel — in addition to performing their normal work duties — are members of a well-trained and equipped 24/7 emergency-response organization that includes volunteer fire and rescue teams and emergency-command-center personnel. Suncor has incorporated many engineered controls into its emergency-response and fire-prevention program, including surveillance cameras, automated fire-suppression systems, emergency shutdown and isolation devices, and state-of-theart technology and instrumentation for proactive monitoring and detection. “Each of our refineries also works very closely with their stakeholders and outside agencies regarding their emergency-response plans,” Fisher says. They also undertake a robust preventive-maintenance program for emergency-response equipment and offer industry-leading emergency-response training, drills and exercises for responders and refinery personnel, she adds. “Fire protection is a little different than any other engineering discipline,” says Luke Morrison, principal engineer and president of PLC Fire Safety Solutions in Fredericton, New Brunswick. “Most processes are designed to operate every day, day in and day out. Your fire-prevention system might sit there unused for 20 years, but when you need it, it has to operate perfectly.” The company provides professional engineering services in fire and explosion protection to ‘high risk’ clients, including nuclear facilities, oil refineries, power plants and petrochemical facilities. “We understand how things burn and blow up and then how to put them out if they do,” he says. The first step is to quantify the fire and explosion hazards — operating unit by operating unit — identifying all the potential problems and the various loss exposures. There are a number of study methodologies, industry standards and design tools that can be used, Morrison says. For example, a hazard and operability or hazop study predicts what might happen if things go wrong. If a valve does not close properly and a vessel overfills, spilling product that is then set aflame by an unguarded ignition source, the hazop study would describe what could go wrong if the pressure or temperature increases. Based on the results, the process risk would be engineered out or a fire-pre-

NUMBER OF INJURIES

PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL

Falls, slips, strains

38.1

Overexertion

22.4

Struck by object

13.3

Repetitive-motion injuries

5.7

Inhalation

4.3

Transportation related

3.8

Fire, contact with hot object

3.3

Other

9.0

Total

210

100

CAUSE OF INJURIES

SOURCE: ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARDS OF CANADA

vention program would be implemented. As a result, Morrison says the safety record of the oil refinery sector is pretty good. “In my experience, they work very hard to control risk,” he suggests. “Your chances of being injured or dying while driving back and forth to the refinery are much higher than they are while you are working there.” But complacency is the enemy. “Just because something has never gone wrong, doesn’t mean it never will,” Morrison cautions. “You have to cultivate vigilance as a religion.” MANAGING CHANGE At Valero Energy’s Jean Gaulin Refinery, every processing change, upgrade or addition made in the plant “is carefully reviewed for its risks by a team of representatives from the operations, maintenance, engineering, safety and environmental departments,” says Veronique Roy, health, safety and environmental director and emergency-response coordinator at the refinery in Lévis, Quebec. “The risks are rated and any unacceptable risks are mitigated by a design change, a procedure or an administrative measure that brings it to an acceptable level.” The company has adopted the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) voluntary protection program (VPP) — a comprehensive, performancebased system for managing health and safety. Roy says their VPP was audited by OSHA representatives in 2008 and 2012, and received the exemplary ‘Star Status,’ given to 20 per cent of sites in the United States. The program incorporates the following incident-prevention and emergency-response components: • Incidents and accidents are reported and investigated to implement corrective actions; • Every process unit operation is systematically reviewed every five years, including its design, human factors, procedures and maintenance; • Every contractor must undergo a full safety program and understand the risks of working with petroleum and toxic substances before entering the refinery; • All employees and contractors must attend monthly safety meetings and complete annual safety trainings; • Process units, shops and buildings are inspected weekly to ensure that the facility is well maintained and that all www.ohscanada.com

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“I thought

potential hazards are eliminated; aid tent. He had we were all • Every worker in a process unit severe burns to his must first obtain a formal percheek, ears and neck going to die, until mit that ensures that the equipand from his shoulment is properly prepared and der down to his elbow. He developed hearing one fellow secured and outlines the safety problems and the impact from his fall caused grabbed requirements for that job; and several small spinal fractures. • Any worker who deviates from a “I slept in a recliner in my basement apartment me.” safety rule or regulation faces sancfor three months until I was strong enough to drive tions, including being removed if the myself home to Alberta,” Farrell says. “Today, I have employee has put anyone at an unacceptstill got the scars, some permanent hearing loss, numbable risk. ness and swelling in my left leg, and pain in my lower back. “We have not had a major release or fire in years,” Roy But these are the demons I have got to live with if I want to says. “Despite this great performance, we are always very make a living.” careful when we talk about it. Although we put a lot of effort Farrell says he has worked in the oil and gas industry into incident prevention, there is no such thing as zero risk for more than 20 years, and many of the companies he has and we need to be prepared to respond at all time[s].” worked for have operated safely, while others will run it till it Shawn Farrell knows that better than most. Farrell was blows up and fix it when it breaks. foreman of a scaffolding crew at the Co-op Refinery Com“Every day, thousands and thousands of people work in plex, working just 20 to 30 feet from the initial blast site that these places. We all know they are high risk,” he says. “That is October afternoon in 2011. “The air turned this dingy orange why we follow the permits and the protocols. We tie off, and colour and the ground started shaking really bad. I knew we wear our goggles and hard hats and hearing protection. right away what was happening,” he recounts from his home We do what we are supposed to do,” Farrell notes. in Newfoundland. “I turned and saw the hair start to melt on “But we also need to know that if there’s a problem, [that] [one worker’s] head. I yelled at my crew to run! But before the company is going to fix it, that everything is going to be I could follow, there was this high-pitched screaming noise okay. We just want to make sure nobody else gets hurt.” and then the blast knocked me off my feet. I passed out.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada When Farrell came to, he managed to crawl away from the accident site before collapsing and being carried to the first William M. Glenn is a writer in Toronto.

REFINERY FIRE SPARKS LAWSUIT In August 2013, following a lengthy investigation into the explosion at the Regina Co-op Refinery Complex that injured 52 workers in 2011, the Saskatchewan Department of Occupational Health and Safety laid five charges against the company. The department alleges the company failed to implement a regular corrosion-monitoring program, failed to ensure that all equipment was adequately maintained and monitored, and did not ensure the health, safety and welfare of the workers at its facility. On January 22 of this year, the company pleaded guilty to “failing to ensure all work was sufficiently and competently supervised.” The other charges will likely be stayed. Sentencing is scheduled for May 12. But the company’s legal odyssey may not be over yet. A number of workers injured in the 2011 incident have asked the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board for the right to sue the company, its owners and the contracting firms onsite at the time of the fire, for additional damages. According to Saskatchewan’s “no fault” workers’ compensation laws, workers are not allowed to sue employers. “This is more than about getting more money,” the group’s lawyer, Tavengwa Runyowa says from Regina. “It is about a sum that will hold the employers accountable and provide an active deterrence for those who gamble with worker’s

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lives for their own benefit.” Runyowa says the group does not oppose the concept behind workers’ compensation, since it prevents “a tremendous amount” of litigation. “However, if an employer knowingly creates and maintains a dangerous work environment and, when alerted to this situation, deliberately chooses to do nothing, he should be held civilly accountable if workers are injured or killed in his workplace.” According to the statement of claim, corroded piping was an ongoing, serious problem at the facility. When workers complained about gas leaks and the lack of monitors, they were told that “they could take their tools and go home.” Runyowa charges that the employer’s emergency medical plan was “wholly inadequate” and that the medical staffers onsite were “poorly prepared”. While admitting the case may be “a long shot,” Runyowa says, “Even if we fail to win the right to sue, we will increase the pressure for legislative change. The compensation scheme was never intended to protect deliberate behaviour that may be irresponsible or even criminal. It is a question of conscience.” Co-op would not comment on the case before filing a defence with the court. There have been four fires at the plant since 2011.

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SAFETY GEAR

MOBILE APPLICATIONS

Safety Goes Wireless By Jean Lian

oday, there is an app for everything. Apps with workplace safety functions are no exception — they are becoming must-have tools for safety professionals and workers alike. “Apps are definitely a big part of today’s safety environment,” says Jonathan Brun, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nimonik, a company offering safety and environmental mobile tools in Montreal. “Companies have tremendous competitive pressures, so anywhere they can save time and avoid accidents at work is a huge gain.” Improvements in technology on smartphones and tablets have made these devices more powerful and able to accommodate added features, says Matthew Ross, media manager with ProntoForms Corporation in Kanata, Ontario. The company offers the ProntoForms app, a mobile-form solution used by 3,000 business customers to receive dispatched forms from the office, collect vital work data in the field and submit complete, media-rich forms in real time. The bring-your-own-device-to-work trend and more companies using cloud services are also driving increased app usage. “It is our largest growth space right now,” Ross says about safety apps. For Brun, one of the biggest advantages of a mobile app is that it can be used offline. “Mobile apps are quite useful when you are working in an environment that does not have a strong Internet connection and where people need to move around, visit different parts of a plant,” he says, adding that Nimonik’s clients include mining operations, mills, warehouses, logistics companies and remote operations. Nimonik offers the Monik Audit, a free app primarily used for safety inspections. It is available from the Apple app store, and an Android version was released in March. Formerly known as the EHSQ Reporter, the Monik Audit has been on the market for about four years and has incorporated new features and updates over time. “If a company or person wants to conduct a workplacesafety inspection, they can use one of our checklists — we have 1,500 checklists in there based on industrial standards, laws and regulations,” Brun explains. An inspector or a site supervisor can refer to the standards in the Monik Audit to determine if a workplace is compliant with regulatory requirements, issue a report or action item and manage the entire inspection process. “That is a big part of our business — helping companies do inspections on mobile devices.” Likewise, the ProntoForms app can be used anywhere, even underground. “You can collect data in the field wherever you are; you can text your signatures, including photo and barcodes,” Ross says. As the app works offline, the collated information or completed forms can be saved and sent when the user gets the network connection back.

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The ProntoForms app, which costs approximately $20 per user (depending on the carrier), works on any smartphone or tablet with Windows, Blackberry, Android and iOS operating systems. “We run on a subscriber budget,” Ross says. Additional charges may apply if a client makes specific integration or form-building requests. Users can either build their forms from scratch or use one of the templates provided. He adds that the ProntoForms app is a “hugely popular tool”, because there are many forms to fill out when conducting safety inspections and writing action reports. “It has been quite successful in eliminating the time to process critical and crucial data related to health and safety,” Ross says. “People can’t afford to fill up forms on paper anymore.” A TAB AWAY Given the plethora of regulatory requirements surrounding workplace health and safety, “having a safety app at your fingertips is incredibly convenient and usually results in the user using it more,” says Warren Bailey, director of marketing with Danatec Educational Services Ltd. in Calgary. “If it was a physical book or something, it might be harder to pull up in times of need.” Danatec, which specializes in workplace-safety and compliance-based training, provides a range of educational and compliance training tools. The company offers two apps — the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Handbook app and the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Handbook app — which are digitized verWHERE TO START? The best place to begin when selecting safety apps is to identify the safety problem that needs to be addressed and determine what needs to be achieved. “Most of our clients come from the compliance perspective, so they have got regulatory requirements, they want to be in compliance,” says Elie Mouzon, vice-president of environment, health, safety and quality solutions with Intelex Technologies Inc. in Toronto. As a company matures, its safety needs might evolve and it can look at more proactive apps that offer safety and job-hazard analysis. “So they will start reinforcing their training-management process, and maybe, they are going to buy apps around that,” Mouzon suggests. Involving end users in the selection process is also key, says Jonathan Brun, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nimonik in Montreal. He encourages companies to try out different solutions in the app store and obtain references from app providers to see if there are others in similar industries who use the app. This, Brun says, will help determine if the app is a good product.

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PHOTOS (ANTI-CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): INTELEX TECHNOLOGIES INC.; PRONTOFORMS CORPORATION; DANATEC EDUCATIONAL SERVICES LTD.

sions of the TDG and WHMIS handbooks. process in the organization, so that they can make positive “Even though the handbooks are quite small, a lot of changes to policies and procedures.” truckers put them in their glove compartments or what have Intelex’s web-based Safety Incident Reporting software you,” Bailey says. On the other hand, “lots of people have provides a comprehensive and user-friendly tool to record, their phones on them 24/7.” The TDG and WHMIS hand- track and report all types of safety incidents, near-misses and book apps, which work on Android and Apple devices, cost dangerous conditions. “When a customer has an incident, $7.99 each and are available from Apple’s iTunes store. they can follow up on it immediately and track preventive According to the company’s website, the content in both actions,” Jaine says. “On a long-term basis, they can try to apps is easy to understand and provides hyperlinks to impor- analyze common causes of incidents.” tant websites and relevant contact information. According to the company The TDG Handbook app includes a handy class website, the app offers safetyguide, placarding guide and checklist for quick incident-reporting forms, fields reference to TDG requirements. Employees can and workflow that can be easuse the app during a TDG training program and ily configured to fit an organizarefer to it for details about classification, shipping tion’s incident-management prodocuments, labels, placards, containers, special cess and make reporting safety situations or reporting an emergency. incidents fast and easy. The app In the last few years, there has been increasing assigns to employees follow-up competition in the app world, corrective and preventive action Bailey notes. The initial uptasks related to reported incidents Danatec’s app (bottom) take of the TDG and WHMIS and near-misses, while automated is designed for those Handbook apps, which have e-mail notifications and reminders who work with hazardbeen around for more than two drive employee accountability and ous materials; Intelex’s years, was a bit slow. “But evtask completion. app (above) tracks and ery month, we see an increase As well, real-time performance reports incidents, while in sales. The more people get dashboards and reports make it easy the ProntoForms app technology on their hands, the to benchmark safety-incident data (left) reduces paperwork. and view a firm’s incident-performore phones people have on them, the more we see people mance metrics at a glance. Users can buying [the apps],” he says. Usalso fill out mandatory employer ers of the TDG and WHMIS injury-reporting forms and print or Handbook apps include those electronically submit the forms to the respective employed in transportation, oil and gas and sectors regulatory bodies directly. involving lone-worker operations. Depending on the level of sophistication There is even an app to help those tasked with required, the app’s capability ranges from propurchasing safety equipment. 3M’s Safety app, viding the basic function of capturing and launched last year, provides access to more than managing incidents to delivering more sophis2,400 3M personal-safety products. Jason Grouette, ticated functions, such as conducting deeper business manager of the personal-safety division root-cause analysis and event reporting. with 3M Canada in London, Ontario, says the app “Our software and pricing is really built to helps distributors, end users and safety managers scale from the smallest organization with 100 choose the appropriate products for their needs. employees or less, to large, global Fortune-500 Unlike other safety apps that provide an extensive companies,” Jaine explains. list of products that users have to plough through Speed is one of the key advantages that safety and figure out what are the best options, 3M’s Safety apps offer, says Ross, citing the ProntoForms app compiles a list of products and accessories that meet a app as an example. The old way involving filling out forms user’s needs in any safety category. The user’s responses to could take days. “Now it takes approximately an hour, and various questions refine the search options from what could everything is done.” be in the hundreds to a manageable amount. “We provide the information, but we make that informa- PENNY WISE, POUND FOOLISH tion active by asking the user questions that allow them to se- While workplace safety apps come in a range of prices, many lect the appropriate product,” Grouette says of the app, which of them are free. What does the price — or the lack thereof — say about the quality of an app? is free and built for the Canadian market. Brun advises companies to think hard about what is most STREAMLINING INFORMATION important to have on a mobile device, given the business they While many workplace health and safety apps provide infor- are in. “Often, companies will be tempted to use the lowermation, others help manage information and the incident- cost or the free apps as a cost-saving tool,” he says. But some reporting process. of these free apps may not be supported by a company, the “Apps really help customers to manage the data that drive data contained in or transmitted via the app may not be sesafety,” says Mark Jaine, chief executive officer with Intelex cured, the app may not be serviced or it may no longer work Technologies Inc. in Toronto. “That also allows them, more a few years down the road. importantly, to aggregate data and better understand their “Companies that are looking to do safety on a mobile dewww.ohscanada.com

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OHS e-le

vice should take a close look not only at the app itself, but the company behind the app and make sure that the company is there to offer support and training and has a high datasecurity system in place,” Brun says. He adds that an app that is not being updated regularly and is connected to the Internet can quickly become a liability. He recommends buyers check how frequently the provider is updating the app. Bailey concurs. “If you are getting something free, you always have to be wary of its quality,” he says. “A lot of times, there are in-app purchases, which will eventually make the app not free.” As well, there could be a hidden agenda behind a free app. “They may be promoting something, they may be pushing you to an online service,” he explains, “or it may be very limited information [that is being provided].” Jaine contends that while his customers are by and large cost-conscious, they are unlikely to compromise on the quality of safety solutions. “I think people understand the necessity of having sophistication of a product, so they will spend money on it to make sure they get the right solution.” LOCATION MATTERS Workplace safety in various industries is governed by complex regulatory frameworks and applicable safety standards with jurisdictional differences in legislation. For apps that serve primarily as information providers, such as those relating to safety legislation, consideration should be given to whether the provider is Canadian or American.

Brun says many of the larger companies down south offer Canadian regulatory information on health and safety and the environment without necessarily understanding the regulatory framework in Canada. “In the United States, a lot of companies will copy and paste things from the government and do not necessarily understand them. On paper, they offer a regulatory service, but in reality, all they are doing are reprinting government communications, which is not valueadding to it.” The same could also apply to Canadian providers, Brun adds. As well, the country in which the data is being hosted could become a relevant factor in the event of a workplace incident. “If the data is sitting on United States-based servers, there is a bunch of legal implications in terms of who can access it, subpoenas and things like that,” Brun adds. “It is very important that the information you are looking at has been tailored for your geography,” Grouette advises. “With our app, we are very careful to make sure that it does meet the needs of the users in our marketplace,” he says of the 3M Safety app. That said, apps cannot replace stand-alone devices when it comes to the detection of dangerous gases like hydrogen sulphide. “I don’t think you would trust a phone app for that, plus it would not have the technology in it for certain things like that,” Bailey says. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Jean Lian is editor of

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IN CONVERSATION

FITNESS FOR DUTY

Impairment Versus Intrusion:

Drugs and Alcohol in Safety-Sensitive Positions Nearly two years have passed since the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd. that the mandatory, random alcohol testing of unionized employees in safety-sensitive positions at Irving’s operations in Saint John, New Brunswick was unreasonable. Yet employers still struggle to understand how to manage testing policies in the workplace. In the instance of oil companies like Suncor, provincial courts have ruled in favour of labour concerns in two separate cases over the last year, and against randomdrug-and-alcohol testing at the company’s Wood Buffalo

operations in Alberta and the use of pre-access testing at its worksite in Sarnia, Ontario. Christina Hall, partner in Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP’s Labour and Employment Group and adjunct professor in Employment Law at the University of Western Ontario in London, speaks with ohs canada about how employers can balance the safety risks associated with workplace impairment and individual privacy rights.

OHS: Under what conditions can employers legally conduct random drug-and-alcohol testing? CH: That is an excellent general question that you would think would have a straightforward answer, but it does not. The answer will depend on whether the workplace is unionized or not and, to some extent, which jurisdiction’s laws apply to the workplace. In a unionized workplace, employers must consider the application of arbitral case law that has been developed by the courts and arbitrators over the years. In a nonunionized workplace, employers must consider adjudication by human-rights tribunals and courts under human-rights legislation. So the frameworks are fairly different. Employers need to put a lot of thought into these programs. Most testing programs are only one element of a more comprehensive fitness-for-duty or drug-and-alcohol policy that applies to the workplace. For example, there is usually an education element that would ask employees, for instance, to come forward if they believe they are impaired or taking medication that might impair them. I think the difficulty is that sometimes, employers will attempt to impose a policy in Canada that was developed in another country, or from one Canadian jurisdiction to another, without realizing that the law might not be the same. So the key for an employer, really, is to understand the law that applies to their business and industry in their jurisdiction, and to create a well thought-out policy accordingly.

employer would have a very difficult time doing any kind of testing — much less random-drug-and-alcohol testing — for somebody who is in, for example, an office or clerical position, because that position is not safety sensitive. The focus of testing should be on situations where there is a risk of harm, and the greater the risk of harm, the more you want to be thinking about the various forms of testing. The forms of testing that are generally less controversial are reasonable-cause testing (when an employee in a safety-sensitive position comes to work and appears to be impaired), post-incident testing (following an accident in the workplace where it is not immediately clear what the cause is), and return-to-work testing (when somebody has been off work in a rehabilitation program and must submit to a drug-and-alcohol test before being allowed to come back to work). When you start talking about things like random, unannounced testing or pre-employment testing, those forms of testing are more controversial.

OHS: What justifications are needed for these testing policies to hold up in court? CH: Generally speaking, if there is going to be a drug-andalcohol-testing policy, it should focus on what has traditionally been called in legal cases “safety-sensitive positions” where there is a risk of harm to those doing the job, their co-workers or the public. In the past, I have sometimes seen drug-and-alcohol-testing policies that purport to test all employees regardless of their role or job duties. However, an 46

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OHS: Under what circumstances can employers fire employees who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol? CH: The terminology is really important when we talk about these cases. I like to use the term “impairment”. The term can be used when an employee is not fit to work for any number of reasons, whether that is because of the effects of alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs or fatigue. Generally, if an employer believes an employee to be impaired, the employee is sent off to submit to a drug-and-alcohol test. If the test comes back positive, that is really only step one of the analysis. The employer should not act unilaterally and fire that employee on that basis alone without making further inquiries. If an employer does so, it can certainly be subject to legal action. Rather, an employer has the duty to first review a positive test. Many employers may go back to an employee to ask if there is a reason for this positive test. Every once in awhile, there is an employee who has a good faith explanation — for

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example, he or she has been taking some kind of medication and did not realize there was an ingredient in there that could cause impairment. If not, employers will ask an employee to go for a professional assessment by a substance-abuse professional, who is trained to determine whether somebody has an addiction or not. If the determination is made by the substance-abuse professional that the employee has an addiction, human-rights legislation in every jurisdiction across Canada provides that an addiction is a disability that needs to be accommodated by the employer up to the point of undue hardship. So a termination of employment in the face of an addiction, without assessing accommodation obligations, is likely not an appropriate response. On the other hand, if the substance-abuse professional says this employee is simply a recreational user of drugs or alcohol, human-rights legislation does not protect such casual use. In that circumstance, an employer is free to evaluate the possibility of discipline for that employee, which might include termination of employment. OHS: What must employers do to satisfy accommodation laws in relation to workers who suffer from addiction? CH: The legal obligation to accommodate is only triggered if a disability is identified. This does not just apply to an addiction, but to any physical or mental disability that an employee in the workplace may be suffering from. The courts and human-rights tribunals have said that accommodation is an individual analysis and that in each case, an employer must analyze its accommodation obligations with regard to that particular employee, his or her particular duties in the workplace, the particular job requirements and his or her particular limitations. In some cases, accommodation might look like giving the employee time off work to attend a rehabilitation program. In other cases, it might look like moving a person from a safetysensitive position to one that is not, or permitting the employee time to attend a day-treatment program. The analysis is done on a case-by-case basis. How do laws related to workplace drug testing differ from those related to alcohol testing? CH: For the most part, the laws are generally the same in terms of when it is appropriate to engage in either practice. In some jurisdictions, there is more acceptance of random alcohol testing than of random drug testing. But that difference is not really a function of a difference in the law per se, so much as a difference in what technology can tell us, which leads to a difference in the law. If somebody has done a Breathalyzer test for the purpose of an alcohol test in the workplace, generally, you can find out right on the spot whether the person sitting in front of you is impaired at that moment. The challenge is that historically — although technology is slowly changing this — drug testing has been conducted by urinalysis. Basically, this form of testing measures substances that a person’s body has already metabolized. It is possible to obtain information that a certain type of drug was consumed, but not necessarily about current impairment. There are saliva tests on the market now that do not test metabolites, so it is possible to get a better result. The problem with some of those tests is that you have to ship that sample away for processing in a lab before a conclusion can be made.

That is still not quite the equivalent of a Breathalyzer test that provides not only an immediate result, but one that measures current impairment. There are test providers now that are working to scientifically confirm other forms of drug testing that will get you the equivalent of the Breathalyzer. That is why the law has struggled with this issue. If the goal of drug testing is to try to have an impairment-free workplace, how are you achieving that if you are using a testing method that is not measuring current impairment? Given the ways we are seeing technology evolve, I do suspect we will see the law evolve as well, in time. OHS: How much do provincial drug-and-alcohol-testing laws differ? CH: They do differ to some degree. Alberta has generally had a more permissive attitude to workplace-drug-and-alcohol testing than Ontario. The human-rights commissions in every province have slightly different takes. For example, the federal human-rights commission, which is the commission to which federal employers are held accountable, generally does not support pre-employment drug-and-alcohol testing, but there are some specific exceptions where the federal commission will support it. In Ontario and some of the other provinces, however, pre-employment drug-and-alcohol testing is generally not accepted, period. Employers who operate in multiple jurisdictions across Canada need to be aware of these differences and comply with human rights and privacy laws applicable in each jurisdiction. Where you see even more differences is between unionized and non-unionized workplaces. With unionized workplaces, a much greater emphasis is placed on inherent privacy rights of individuals. OHS: In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that mandatory, random alcohol testing of employees in safetysensitive positions at Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. was unreasonable. What is the takeaway for employers? CH: The first key point is that case involved a unionized employer. There are less implications for non-unionized employers. For unionized employers, basically, the decision supported a line of arbitration cases going back a number of years that has said, “If you are going to be doing drugand-alcohol testing in the workplace, then reasonable-cause testing, post-incident testing and return-to-work testing are generally okay.” To that extent, nothing has changed. Where I think the Supreme Court has provided more clarity is that if an employer is looking to conduct random alcohol testing outside one of those already permitted areas, it needs to be able to show that it has concerns that are more than just the general concerns about inherent safety risks in the workplace. The employer has to be able to show that there is some kind of enhanced safety risk to the workplace that would justify this privacy-sensitive intrusion upon the employees. So the question for the employer, going past 2013, has been, what kind of enhanced safety risk are we going to have to show? Employers and employment and health and safety lawyers are all watching to see what will happen with the next cases, to determine what kinds of enhanced safety risks might justify testing outside the traditionally accepted parameters. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. www.ohscanada.com

New Q&A Mar 2015.indd 47

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ACCIDENT PREVENTION

LACERATIONS

Making the Cut SLICES OF LIFE: Cuts and lacerations are common workplace injuries, and the scope of occupations in which they occur is wide. Equipment containing blades, saws or other slicing objects can put people at risk, as can work with sheet metal, glass and other sharp materials. Cuts often occur when knives slip during use or are left around carelessly. In the poultry-processing industry, cut injuries from knives, scissors or machinery are common, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Washington, D.C. Cuts can also happen in food services and retail when workers open boxes. In manufacturing industries, employees often use machinery that slices or perforates material, such as radial arm saws, while lumber relies on chainsaws, which, if not used properly, can cause serious injuries, like the loss of limbs or digits.

FACTS AND FIGURES: Young workers are particularly prone to cuts and lacerations on the job. In British Columbia, working with knives alone results in about 525 injury claims per year from young workers, according to statistics from WorkSafeBC in Richmond. In addition, about one in 130 of these claims results in the amputation of at least one finger or thumb. In Ontario, 7.6 per cent of all reported occupational injuries in 2013 resulted from cuts, lacerations or punctures, notes information from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Toronto. Employers can face prosecution for such incidents. Last year, several employers in Manitoba were fined for cut, laceration and amputation injuries. In December, one employer was penalized for an accident in which a worker amputated three fingers. The employee was attempting to clean a piece of equipment used to cut dough when the worker’s hand made contact with a moving scraper blade.

COMMON CAUSES: Many factors can contribute to cut injuries. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) in Columbus lists the following as typical causes of workplace cuts and lacerations: insufficient training; lack of safety procedures; workers rushing through tasks by taking short cuts; lack of personal-protective equipment; using tools improperly or using the wrong tool for the task; having no safeguards on machinery or adjusting them poorly; clutter and debris interfering with the work environment; and insufficient lighting. Injuries can range from smaller scrapes and abrasions, minor cuts and needle-stick injuries to deeper lacerations leading to nerve or tendon damage or amputation, the BWC notes. Employers should take the time to review past incidents, discuss how the injuries were caused and could have been prevented with the personnel involved and develop safety procedures around potential risks based on this information.

IT’S THE LAW: Depending on where an organization is located, provincial legislation may cover mandatory protection of workers from cut injuries. Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, for example, notes that construction workers must wear appropriate protection in situations where they could potentially come into contact with any object that may “puncture, cut or abrade the skin.” Saskatchewan’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations has a section requiring “lower-body protection”, such as safety pants or chaps for workers who use chainsaws or are at risk of sustaining cuts or punctures on their lower bodies. 48

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HAND IN GLOVE: Cut-resistant safety gloves, usually made from Kevlar, stainless steel or Dyneema, are typically worn by workers to protect the hands. These gloves guard against slices, abrasive cuts from jagged edges and impact cuts from falling or flying sharp objects. Five different protection levels have been designed for varying occupational risks, according to information from Superior Glove, a safety-glove manufacturer in Acton, Ontario. As safety gloves protect only the hands, employers should take additional precautions. Regular evaluations should be conducted to ensure that machine safeguards are in place and adjusted properly, gloves are available and maintained and lockout/tagout procedures are established, OSHA recommends. Each relevant workplace should have a system allowing employees to notify management of any cutting hazards. Damaged knives and scissors should be removed from service, and safeguards should always be in the protecting position when equipment is not locked out.

CAUTION PAYS: Whatever the job, attention must be paid to the safe use of cutting tools. The following are some tips on using a radial arm saw from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Hamilton, Ontario: • Wear protective footwear when required; • Feed stock against the direction of the blade; • Only use saw blades rated at or above the speed of the saw arbour (the attachment from motor to blade); • Use only the accessories designed for that specific saw and application; • Stand on the handle side when cross-cutting. Pull the cutting head with the hand nearest the handle and maneuver the stock with the other hand; • Make sure the hand holding the stock is never in line with the blade; • Return the cutting head completely to the back of the saw table after each cut; • Turn off the saw when making any adjustments or changes in the setup; and • Make measurements by placing the wood to be cut against the stop gauge. When measuring with a tape measure or ruler is necessary, turn off the saw.

DEEP CUTS: Even when safety precautions are taken, accidents can still occur. If a worker suffers a small cut, flush the wound under running water while washing it with soap, Vancouver First Aid (VFA) advises. In the event of heavier bleeding, VFA recommends taking the following actions: • Place the worker on his or her back and elevate the injured limb slightly above the heart’s level; • Remove debris, unless it is embedded in the body; • Apply firm pressure on the wound for five to 10 minutes using dressing, such as cloths or bandages, while wearing gloves. Add more dressing if the cloths get soaked with blood; otherwise, avoid uncovering the wound; • Tape a clean bandage over the wound when the bleeding is controlled; and • Seek medical assistance immediately. Bear in mind that small cuts may bleed heavily, while some serious injuries may not bleed very much.

URGENT CARE: Due to possible damage to vital organs, serious cuts and lacerations to the chest and the abdominal cavity are the most likely to be life-threatening, even if there is no obvious heavy bleeding, VFA notes. Such an injury should be considered an emergency, and immediate medical care is required. If the victim is weak, dizzy or cold, he or she may be suffering from shock. Hospitalization and/or emergency treatment may be necessary if the bleeding does not stop, if the wound edges are separated, if there appears to be serious underlying damage (such as a sliced nerve or tendon) or if the victim is not immunized against tetanus or rabies. The doctor will initially focus on stopping the bleeding and cleaning the wound. Further treatment, ranging from bandages to stitches, depends on the severity of the injury. www.ohscanada.com

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HEALTH WATCH

MENTAL-HEALTH INDICATORS

Putting Stress on Stress By Jeff Cottrill

any Canadians feel stressed out at work, according to a preliminary report from the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). In April, the Commission will publish its full report on mental-health indicators, which classifies workplace stress as an area of “some concern”. The first stage of the MHCC’s project studying the state of mental health across the country examines a variety of data sources, including a 2012 Statistics Canada survey showing that 28.4 per cent of Canadians who were between 15 and 75 years old found most work days to be “quite a bit stressful” or “extremely stressful.” The preliminary report, Informing the Future: Mental Health Indicators for Canada, published in January, identifies “stress at work” as one of 13 indicators. The full report, covering the remaining 50 “The mental and indicators, is expected to promote the physical discussion about ways to improve Canadians’ mental health. are biologically “Work-related stress extracts a huge fiscal and social toll in Cantied together.” ada,” the preliminary report reads. “Stress associated with the workplace lowers productivity, increases short- and long-term absences and contributes to mental-health problems.” Stress is a difficult concept to define, in part because it can be both a cause and an effect of a person’s mental state, says Merv Gilbert, Ph.D., a psychologist and adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, who has been working with researchers at the MHCC. Dr. Gilbert views it as a situation in which the amount of expected responsibilities and obligations exceeds an individual’s ability to manage them. A mental-health issue, such as depression or anxiety, can have “a profound impact” on one’s productivity, ability to concentrate, energy level, decision-making capacity and interpersonal skills at home and at work. “That impacts the bottom line; it impacts other workers, co-workers, as well,” he cautions. Mary Ann Baynton is an expert on workplace mental health in Waterdown, Ontario. As the executive director of Mindful Employer Canada, a non-profit organization that works with employers and employees to promote mentally healthy workplaces, she notes that stress is not always a negative factor. “It is also what energizes us when we are working passionately towards a project,” she explains. “Stress in and of itself is inevitable in a workplace.” But it can become harmful when caused by excessive criticism or pressure from an employer or colleague. “If you are in a chronically negative, pressured or chaotic workplace, it is tough for even the most resilient employee to continue 50

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to manage stress effectively,” she says. “It really can reduce productivity. It can have health effects, and I don’t just mean health effects like depression or anxiety, but gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune problems, all sorts of conditions.” Unproductive stress can even jeopardize physical safety, Baynton cautions. “There can be an increase in injuries and accidents, simply because stress also can distract us from doing things in a thoughtful and conscientious way.” Kevin Kelloway, Ph.D., Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health Psychology and president-elect of the Canadian Psychological Association, suggests that when people are under too much pressure and working very quickly, they might overlook things, such as a guard that is not in place. “Having too many responsibilities is a good predictor of occupational accidents,” he says from Halifax. John Oudyk, a Hamilton-based occupational hygienist with Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers adds, “Anyone who has ever experienced stress in the workplace knows firsthand the effects, how devastating it can be if it is severe.” Until recent years, he notes, stress was considered not an occupational health and safety matter, but more of “a personality issue” that employees could handle with relaxation exercises and better time management. Oudyk agrees with Baynton that mental and emotional stress can manifest itself in physical ailments. “The mental and the physical are biologically tied together. So if you are affecting one, you are affecting the other,” he says. “There is a brain-endocrine connection upon which a lot of stress research is based on.” VIRTUAL ABSENCE According to Dr. Kelloway, the health and safety effects of stress — from increased illnesses via a depressed immune system, to injuries — lead to increased absenteeism. But another, less obvious result is presenteeism: employees showing up to work, but contributing little or nothing. “They may be sitting at their desk, but they are not really doing their work, because they are worrying about whatever it is that is stressing them or they are feeling anxious,” Dr. Kelloway explains. “People now talk about that almost as a hidden form of absence,” he adds. “So we see that in terms of lost productivity.” One of the earliest noticeable signs of overstressed workers is in their interactions with colleagues, Dr. Kelloway notes. “When we put people under a lot of stress, one of the first things to go is their interpersonal skills. So we get coworkers snapping at each other or just not treating each other very nicely.” If not confronted, he says, this problem could lead to burnout or worse. “Take that a little further, and you are getting into depression and anxiety disorders, and that is often what will trigger these short-term or long-term disability claims.” Almost all

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SHIFTING NUMBERS While 28 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 75 reported most work days to be “quite a bit stressful” or “extremely stressful” in 2012, the upheaval of the Canadian economy over the last decade has altered some of the nature and demographics of the workforce. “What we don’t know from that statistic alone is where that is coming from and whether the sources of stress were the same in 2003 as they were in 2012,” says Merv Gilbert, Ph.D., an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver who assisted with the preliminary report on mental health by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. For example, much of the so-called “Sandwich Generation” is working, while simultaneously taking care of their elderly parents and children. “So the source of that stress

of the work insurance providers with whom Dr. Kelloway has dealt report that between 30 and 40 per cent of their claims are related to occupational stress via mental health or heart conditions. Stress may also contribute to workers taking longer to come back to work. The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, published by CSA Group in January 2013, recommends taking stress into consideration when planning a psychological health and safety management system. It points to employer resources, such as Health Canada’s Self-Assessment Tool for Measuring the Costs of Work Stress and the United Kingdom-based Health and Safety Executive’s Stress Management Competence Indicator Tool, for measuring how stress is affecting workers. “An organization with good psychological protection would be able to state that the organization is committed to minimizing unnecessary stress at work,” the CSA standard reads, adding that in such an organization, “immediate supervisors care about workers’ emotional well-being.” Baynton believes that reducing negative workplace stress is a two-way street on which both employers and employees need to drive. “Each one of us has the most control and the most responsibility for our well-being at work and elsewhere,” she says. “If the employer is doing what they can to provide a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, and the employees are doing what they can to be resilient, manage their own stress, it is an ideal situation.” When it comes to stress, Dr. Gilbert recommends that employers look at workplace factors that may be contributing to stress, at both a job-specific and an organizational level. This could be workload, the way in which work gets done, how workers are managed or how systems are set up. “At least be aware of that and identify those hazards and mitigate those risks as much as possible.” Oudyk adds that employers can take a more flexible approach to scheduling and hours, particularly with employees who have ample family responsibilities and other life burdens outside work. “It is a lot of common-sense, humanistic approach to people’s relationships in the workplace,” he says. “You can make it easy for people to balance all the things they are asked to do, plus their home life, or you can set up obstacles and make it difficult.” Another option available for employers is to take advantage of training programs and information services on stress,

may have shifted. The bottom line, nonetheless, is that a lot of people are reporting that they are highly stressed,” Dr. Gilbert says. Although Statistics Canada’s percentages of highly stressed workers have declined a little over the past 10 years, at 28 per cent, the number still represents a large enough portion of the population to be a cause for concern. In addition, a 2013 online survey from Partners for Mental Health in Ottawa found that 47 per cent of employed Canadians considered work the most stressful part of their lives. Meanwhile, a 2015 Morneau Sheppell survey of workers revealed that 58 per cent of participants reported a negative effect on productivity, 31 per cent had taken time off work and 25 per cent had become ill — all due to work-related stress.

such as those offered by the Workers Health & Safety Centre in Toronto. These services can help to raise awareness of how stress can affect a workplace and how to reduce the negative effects at the workplace level. PRE-EXISTING CONDITION One factor that could exacerbate occupational stress is if an employee has an already-existing mental illness, like depression, and does not feel comfortable admitting it openly. A recent survey conducted by Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health last year revealed that nearly 40 per cent of working adults in Ontario would not tell their managers if they were suffering from a mental-health problem. A 2013 Ipsos-Reid poll, conducted on behalf of Partners for Mental Health, found the nationwide equivalent to be 65 per cent. “It depends a lot on the work situation,” Baynton says. “In a workplace where you will be labelled as ‘less than’ or incapable, the disclosure can actually exacerbate the symptoms and won’t have the effect of improving productivity.” Conversely, an ideal workplace would encourage employees to share their mental-health conditions in a supportive way. Dr. Kelloway observes that more organizations these days are putting effort into de-stigmatizing mental illnesses and making resources available to workers who suffer from them. “Almost every major employer has an employee-assistance program,” he points out. “There is a 1-800 number you can call to get put in touch with a counsellor who will get back to you within 24 hours, usually, and you can get some immediate help that way.” In the more fortunate cases, supervisors or managers may be willing to accommodate such employees with reduced or reassigned duties or with extra time off. About one out of five Canadians will suffer from a psychological disorder at some point, Dr. Kelloway adds. “Since we are all in that boat, this is the place where we shouldn’t have any stigma, but for some reason, we don’t want to talk about it. So breaking down that stigma is the way to get people the help they need.” No matter how employers choose to deal with it, work stress is an issue that cannot be eliminated completely. “There is no such thing as no stress,” Dr. Gilbert says. “Stress is a fact of life and a fact of work life.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Jeff Cottrill is editorial assistant of

ohs canada.

www.ohscanada.com

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PARTNERS IN PREVENTION 2015 HEALTH & SAFETY CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

APRIL 28-29, 2015 THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE 6900 AIRPORT ROAD, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO

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Volume Discounts 6 to 9 registrations 5% 10 to 15 registrations 10% 16 to 20 registrations 15% 21 or more registrations 20% To be eligible, registrations must be made at the same time.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Tuesday, April 28 Opening Keynote Chris Hadfield

First Canadian Commander of the International Space Station

The Sky is Not the Limit

“Good morning, Earth!” That is how Colonel Chris Hadfield — writing on Twitter — woke the world up every day while living aboard the International Space Station for five months. Through his 21 years as an astronaut and three spaceflights, Colonel Hadfield has become a worldwide sensation, harnessing the power of social media to make outer space accessible to millions and infusing a sense of wonder into our collective consciousness not felt since humanity first walked on the moon.

Wednesday, April 29 Breakfast Keynote Dr. Joe MacInnis

Renowned Explorer, Leadership and Teamwork Expert

Leadership Lessons from the 7-Mile Dive into the Marianas Trench

A self-described “accidental leader”, Dr. MacInnis is a medical doctor who studies leadership and teamwork in life-threatening environments from deep ocean to outer space. James Cameron, the Academy Award winning director, recently built a $30-million research submarine and made an epic 7-mile dive into the Marianas Trench with Dr. MacInnis as Cameron’s electronic journalist and team physician. You won’t want to miss this fascinating presentation that outlines the challenges faced by Cameron’s team through 60 days of ‘guerrilla warfare’ stress and ultimately a successful mission.

Wednesday, April 29 Luncheon Keynote Michael Landsberg Host of TSN’s “Off the Record”

Darkness and Hope: Depression, Sports and Me

Michael Landsberg is the charismatic and outspoken host of TSN’s Off the Record — and from watching his show, you would never guess that he has been battling mental illness and depression for most of his life. Lifting the stigma from this topic, Landsberg delivers a powerful and personal keynote on the dangerously misunderstood issues of depression and mental health. Depression can affect even the most successful of athletes — from Clara Hughes, one of the great amateur athletes in Canada, to four-time World Series winner Darryl Strawberry. Landsberg shares the story of his own battle with mental illness, as well as the unexplored stories of some of the world’s most recognizable sports figures, to show us that recovery, strength and hope are possible in some of our darkest times. www.ohscanada.com

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15-04-06 10:35 AM

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A D V E R T I S I N G D I R E C T O RY

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Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News

The Annual Index for articles published in OHS Canada in 2014 is now available online at our website.

C A N A D A

ANNUAL INDEX 2014

www.ohscanada.com

So, what’s on your mind? MARCH/APRIL 2015

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Are hospitals doing enough to protect healthcare workers from workplace violence?

Should Canada mandate the full disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing?

Yes

15%

Yes

96%

63%

Not sure

22%

Unsure

Total Votes

231

Total Votes

814

Go on — have your say. Check out www.ohscanada.com to vote in our latest poll.

www.ohscanada.com

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TIME OUT

GHOST RIDER: The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) may be dealing with a Canadian version of American Horror Story. In a freak occurrence, a public-transit bus — without the driver at the wheel — plowed into the rear end of a truck parked at Bathurst Station, CBC News reported on March 4. Luckily, no one was injured, as both vehicles were parked and empty. It seems commuters were not spooked by the ghost bus, as onlookers could be heard laughing in a video posted online. The TTC said it would interview the bus operator, who may not have put the safety brake in place. Ghost bus incidents are rare sightings, the TTC claims. NO CONCRETE PROOF: If you are a commuter in

Toronto, you may wonder if the sky is falling. It is believed that a piece of the 50-year-old Gardiner Expressway smashed the windshield of a car on March 3, according to a Toronto Star article. The driver and passenger, who were stopped at a traffic light below the expressway, were not hurt by the falling concrete. The stretch of overpass suspected to have caused the damage was reportedly inspected before the accident, but was not deemed a safety threat. Stephen Buckley, Toronto’s general manager of transportation services, said he could not say with certainty that the chunk came from the expressway, and not a passing truck. Given that reasoning, the debris just as easily could have originated from the skies overhead.

BOOKS, NOT BOOBS: The secret is out. A woman going by the handle “lilsecrett” has been caught mooning and flashing patrons of two libraries in Windsor, Ontario, CTV News reported on March 4. The woman filmed herself baring it all in the library and streamed the videos on a porn site. One might think nothing is beyond the pale in the sex industry, but the model was allegedly fired for violating company policies prohibiting performers from taking actions deemed obscene by the community. One sex-store worker agreed that the woman had crossed a line, but librarians were probably the most peeved by her dirty tricks. One librarian was caught on tape telling the woman to leave. For a meek librarian, this might have been her most aggressive move. “Excuse me. You need to leave… Yeah, right now,” she insisted. NUTS TO YOU: With peanut allergies on the rise, many

workplaces have instituted nut-free policies. But a little peanuts may be more helpful than harmful. According to research from two American-led studies and early findings of a study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, being exposed to small amounts of the legume could help prevent reactions and, in some cases, even reverse the allergy. Oral desensitization and a peanut patch are being tested on children who have or are prone to developing peanut allergies, Torstar News Service reported on February 25. Allergy alert: Research is in its early stages and people may still get reactions from miniscule doses. The office may not be peanut-ready yet.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE: Another warning to workplace snackers: Whatever you do, don’t leave your Nutella unattended. You could find that when you return, your desk 58

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has burned to the ground. One family in London, England learned that lesson the hard way. While they were out for an anniversary celebration, their house went up in flames, Global News reported on February 24. The culprit? An empty jar of Nutella containing some elastic bands left on the window sill. The jar reportedly refracted light rays from the sun, setting the curtain ablaze. While no humans were present, the family dog sadly perished in the incident.

HAPPY HOUR: Most workers are aware of the hazards of drinking while driving or operating machinery, but perhaps more safety training should focus on the risks of drinking while teaching. In Iowa, two primary school teachers have been found inebriated in class, Huffington Post reports. In the most recent incident, authorities arrested a sixth-grade teacher at Lenihan Intermediate School on March 4 on charges of public intoxication. The deputy sheriff who arrested the woman was in school for anti-drug and alcohol classes. Clearly, such classes should be mandatory not just for students. MR. NICE GUY: The New York Police Department is enlisting the help of Patrick Swayze to teach tough guy cops to be nice. A movie clip from Road House, in which Swayze’s character instructs bar bouncers to “be nice”, was shown to officers in a retraining course recently, the New York Post reports. The program was established following the death of Eric Garner, which ignited protests across the United States and beyond. Prior to the new educational tool, many cops were reportedly falling asleep in their seats. Pretty soon, the police academy will be screening Dirty Dancing to demonstrate to police how to keep on their toes. BIRD, PLANE OR DRONE?: For years, sightings of

unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have been dismissed as the ramblings of conspiracy theorists. Now, they are being zoned in on by officials as legitimate security threats. Three Al-Jazeera reporters were recently arrested for flying a drone above Paris during a period of heightened security, The Associated Press reported on February 25. The arrests follow a spate of five drone sightings around some of the city’s popular attractions. French authorities claim that the UFOs pose no threat, aside from the possibility of them dropping on the heads of unsuspecting Parisians. It is still unclear what the reporters were doing, but perhaps authorities should consider as a motivating factor that they just wanted to see the sights.

DIRTY POLITICS: It appears that being an Arab woman in Israeli politics has turned into a blood sport. Member of Israeli parliament and Palestinian citizen of Israel Haneen Zoabi and her media advisor were attacked by rightists during a panel in Ramat Gan on March 3, Israeli web magazine +972 reports. The topic of the panel was the status of women in Israeli society. Attackers allegedly interrupted the talk by jumping on stage and pouring cola on Zoabi’s head. Her media advisor was reportedly hit on the head with a flagpole by assailants, suffering a minor concussion. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

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Apple, the Apple logo, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. 3M is a trademark of 3M and The Power to Protect Your World is a service mark of 3M, used under license in Canada. © 2015, 3M. All rights reserved. BA-15-19978 1503-00745 E

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