Canadian Occupational Safety

5 2019 APRIL/MAY APRIL/MAY 2019 | ISSUE 2 | VOLUME 57 THOMSON REUTERS | CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY FEATURES 18 Wearables Wearable technology is taking safety management in new direction By Linda Johnson 20 Gas Detection These critical devices now provide a plethora of additional information By Linda Johnson 22 Visual Literacy A concept widely used in the art world has a place in safety By Amanda Silliker DEPARTMENTS 6 Workplace News 8 Fines & Penalties 25 Products & Services 26 My Safety Moment COLUMNS 10 Up Close Profiling Judy Village, Association of Canadian Ergonomists By Amanda Silliker 12 Professional Development The ethical dilemma By Glyn Jones 14 Legal Landscape Non-worker injuries may result in OHS fines By Cathy Chandler 15 Safety Culture What's in a name? By Dave Fennell COVER STORY 16 IN THIS ISSUE 18 20 22 PHOTO: MATT BRADEN PHOTO ATV SAFETY A lot of ground must be covered before workers hop on these powerful machines By Amanda Silliker NEW Access a sample issue now at: bitly.com/CSR-FreePreview-19 To order your subscription call 1.800.387.5164 or 416.609.3800 www.safety-reporter.com/subscribe Safety Reporter Canadian Canadian Safety Reporter is an essential resource for the creation of a safe workplace. This monthly newsletter illustrates techniques and strategies on how to keep the workplace safe from hazards and in full compliance with the latest legislation. Learn the practical knowledge and skills to confidently lead and manage your employees, ensure uniformity and consistency in day-to-day operations and provide the framework for business planning. Start your subscription and receive: • 12 issues of Canadian Safety Reporter • Monthly e-newsletter delivered right to your desktop that links you to our publications WORKPLACE SAFETY IS A CHEAP YET EFFECTIVE INSURANCE POLICY Subscribe today for only $139 Order No. 20208-19 Safety Reporter Canadian www.safety-reporter.com March 2019 Workers' compensation benefits for injured worker after employer shuts down No comparable positions available for worker performing modified duties years after workplace injury: Tribunal BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ONTARIO worker has won his appeal for workers' compensa- tion benefits following the closure of his employer while he was per- forming modified duties. The 47-year-old worker began working with the accident em- ployer, a truck manufacturing company in 1992. Within a few years, he was employed in the company's customer ready centre, where assembled trucks were brought for fixing problems that Lac-Mégantic train engineer's firing overturned by arbitrator Railway didn't conduct investigation required by collective agreement before firing engineer involved in tragic Quebec train derailment BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ARBITRATOR has over- turned the dismissal of the en- gineer involved in the tragic train derailment disaster in Lac- Mégantic, Que., in 2013 because of the employer railway's failure to hold a sufficient investigation before terminating his employ- ment as required by the collec- tive agreement. Thomas Harding was a loco- motive engineer for the Mon- treal Maine & Atlantic Railway, hired in January 1980. He was serving in that role on the train carrying oil that, while left unat- tended overnight, rolled down NEW ENTITLEMENT LEVELS AFTER WORKER'S CONDITION WORSENS New workers' compensation for deterioration of injury unrelated to underlying condition pg. 5 HARASSING CONDUCT REASON ENOUGH TO FIRE PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE Failure to follow expectations in non-disciplinary letter enough to show unsuitability for position pg. 6 INSIDE NEWS BRIEF TSB investigation > pg. 4 Credit: Shutterstock/meunierd Similar > pg. 2 PM #40065782 CHRONIC PAIN TOP USE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Reuters Health) — Almost two- thirds of U.S. patients who use medical marijuana are using it for chronic pain, a new study suggests. Thirty-three U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical use and 10 have for recreational use. Patients receiving cannabis for medical use need a license that requires a doc- tor to certify they have a condition qualifying for such treatment. Overall, 65 per cent of medi- cal marijuana patients used it for chronic pain. Other common rea- sons were for multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy nausea, and post- traumatic stress disorder. "The vast majority of conditions for which people use cannabis have substantial or conclusive evidence of cannabis being an effective treatment," said lead study author Kevin Boehnke of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. However, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy for them to determine how best to use it, he added. That's because the federal gov- ernment still classifies marijuana as a substance with no medical use and a high potential for abuse, with no clinical guidelines for medical treatment, Boehnke said. PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT ENTITLEMENT A LONG TIME COMING Years of enduring increased symptoms and being unable to work after workplace accident aggravated condition pg. 3

• Cover