Leadership by example: Committing to workplace health and safetyNational charter works to integrate safety into business strategies, processesBy Hitomi Suzuta04/23/2012|Canadian HR Reporter|Last Updated: 04/24/2012 Almost 900 people die annually in Canadian workplaces. The number of work-related deaths increased by 26 per cent between 1993 and 2010, according to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, and no province or territory has been able to decrease fatalities for two consecutive years.Real transformation in the health and safety practices of Canadian organizations has to come from the top to make a lasting impact on what is often a matter of life or death. This reality prompted Duncan Hawthorne, president and CEO of Tiverton, Ont.-based Bruce Power, to become a champion of improved health and safety at the workplace.In 2005, workplace deaths in Canada reached 1,100 and Hawthorne envisioned a national health and safety charter — he considered it essential to have government and business work together. So, that same year, he met with federal, provincial and territorial ministers of labour to ask for their commitment to a national health and safety campaign. To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In Remember Me Forgot Password If you are a current Subscriber, please click here to set-up or update your login information.