Canadian Occupational Safety

Dec/Jan 2015

Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.

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December/January 2015 3 Latest COS videos Coming up online More videos at www.cos-mag.com/video.html December Occupational diseases Industrial hygiene Hearing protection January Winter safety Dif cult employees OHS legal update Chemical handling Webinars You spoke, we listened. Our reader survey revealed 77 per cent of you want more health and safety webinars. Watch webinars on demand, including creating an EHS management system, responding to a workplace accident and ensuring effective JHSCs. And look for more to come in the New Year. www.cos-mag.com/CPDCentre On now @ twitter.com/cosmagazine Join Canadian Occupational Safety group on Follow us on Safety Tip: Crystalline silica Breathing in tiny fragments could lead to incurable silicosis, a potentially fatal disease Awards gala Excellent guest speakers took the stage at the 4th annual Canada's Safest Employers Awards gala DIRECTOR, CARSWELL MEDIA Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9411 PUBLISHER John Hobel john.hobel@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5197 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Todd Humber todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5196 EDITOR Amanda Silliker amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9502 ASSISTANT EDITOR Mallory Hendry ART DIRECTOR Steve Maver PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Pamela Menezes pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9298 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kathy Liotta kathy.liotta@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9920 Stephen Hill stephen.hill@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5090 MANAGER, MEDIA PRODUCTION Lisa Drummond lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com MARKETING MANAGER Mohammad Ali mm.ali@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Keith Fulford keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9585 COLUMNISTS Legal Cheryl A. Edwards and Norm Keith Training Glyn Jones Workers' Compensation Jeffrey R. Smith and David Marchione CUSTOMER SERVICE Tel. 416-609-3800 (Toronto)/ 1-800-387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax 416-298-5082 (Toronto)/ 1-877-750-9041 (outside Toronto) carswell.customerrelations@thomsonreuters.com RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 2075 KENNEDY RD., TORONTO, ONT. M1T 3V4 Contents of Canadian Occupational Safety are copyright © 2014 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited and may not be reproduced in whole or part without written consent. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. HST/GST # 89717 6350 RT0002 QST # 1019064405 TQ0005 Canada Post – Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 40065782 International Standard Serial Number 0008-4611. Printed in The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, colour transparencies or other materials. Manuscripts or other materials must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Canadian Occupational Safety is published six times yearly by Thomson Reuters Canada Limited, 2075 Kennedy Road, Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 Telephone 416-649-9926 Fax 416-609-5840; www.cos-mag.com Issue dates are February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November, December/January. Subscription price: Canada: $64 including tax ($59.84 + $4.16 GST); US: $64, International: $96 Canadian Occupational Safety makes every effort to ensure accuracy in all items reported, but cannot accept responsibility for the representations or claims made by sources used. AMANDA SILLIKER FROM THE EDITOR cos-mag.com visit us online Canadian Occupational Safety's Editorial Advisory Board Dave Gouthro, CRSP, CHSC, CHSO Occupational Health & Safety Consulting David Johnston, CRSP Director, EHS Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. Eldeen Pozniak Director Pozniak Safety Associates Inc. Guy Chenard Retired Senior H&S Advisor Ontario Power Generation Maureen Shaw President Act Three Consulting Dr. Ron Saunders Director of Knowledge Transfer & Exchange Institute for Work and Health National security meets workplace safety o ne week before we were celebrating the safest employers across Canada, a gunman opened fi re in one of the most well-known workplaces in the country — the House of Commons. While it is shocking and horrifi c for the country's federal legislative offi ces to have a gunman inside from a national security perspective, there is also a very strong occupational health and safety angle to the story. The employees within the House of Commons — and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was shot dead by the gunman at his post in front of the National War Memorial — were all just going to work that day. They likely felt pretty safe working in the same building as the prime minister with security guards, metal detectors and scanners available for every visitor that comes through the door. Unfortunately, the gunman stormed in and put the lives of everyone inside the building at signifi cant risk. While this was certainly a wake-up call for the federal government to take another look at heightened security for the House of Commons and make sure it is truly prepared for an act of violence, it should also serve as a reminder of its duty to protect the thousands of public servants that work on Parliament Hill. The federal government has the same requirements as you do in your workplaces to keep workers safe, and the law clerks, IT staff, custodians and tour guides have the right to be as protected as those who make the decisions that shape this country. Paul Kells, workplace safety and respect champion, commends the government — especially Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers — for its response. His daughter Robin works in the House of Commons and was only a few feet away from the gunman that day. Kells was a guest speaker at the fourth annual Canada's Safest Employers Awards gala on Oct. 28, and he shared how Robin's workplace took care of her during and after that terrifying day. (See page 8 for more.) Kells also has experience with the other end of the spectrum — workplaces that do not respect the health and safety of their workers. His son Sean died on his third day on the job when he was 19. While that was 20 years ago, we still face issues with young worker safety today. In the federal jurisdiction alone, young workers account for eight per cent of the workforce and they account for eight per cent of total injuries. In 2012 more than 31,000 young Canadians were seriously injured on the job and 32 of them died. Fortunately, there might be some headway being made on protecting co-op students, interns and apprentices under health and safety legislation. (See page 6.) What companies across Canada need in order to keep all workers — young and old — safe on the job are passion- ate and talented safety professionals like Dave Hagen. He is the deserving recipient of the 2014 Safety Leader of the Year Award. Hagen takes safety to the next level by working with manufacturers and even competitors to keep his employees at Chemco Electrical Contractors — and workers all across Canada — safe. (Learn more about him in our cover story on page 16.) If you know someone who is an exceptional safety leader and is a deserving recipient of the 2015 award, visit www.cos-mag.com in March for the nomination form. We are also launching the search for the 2015 Canada's Safest Employers on Jan. 14, so check out www.safestemployers.com to see if your company has what it takes. Amanda Silliker, Editor amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com

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