B.C. expands occupational disease regulation for firefighters with esophageal cancer • Manitoba amends workplace safety regulation on violence prevention • Ontario sector-specific safety plans available online • Newfoundland and Labrador WCB releases privacy statement
British Columbia
Occupational disease regulation for firefighters with cancer expanded
British Columbia is expanding the firefighters’ occupational disease regulation so firefighters who develop esophageal cancer can qualify for benefits more easily under the Workers Compensation Act. In order to qualify for benefits previously, firefighters had to provide additional medical or scientific evidence the cancer was work-related. This will no longer be necessary. Ten types of cancer are now recognized under the act as occupational diseases associated with being a firefighter. Full-time, volunteer, part-time and paid on-call firefighters who primarily perform fire suppression duties and have a minimum 25 years of employment doing this work qualify for the coverage. About 3,800 firefighters in B.C. will be covered by this change. In addition to primary site esophageal cancer, other cancers covered under the act include: primary site brain cancer, primary site bladder cancer, primary site kidney cancer, primary non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and primary site ureter cancer.
Manitoba
Manitoba amends workplace regulation on violence
Manitoba has amended its Workplace Safety and Health Regulation to include new requirements to protect employees from workplace violence. The changes took effect on Aug. 31, 2011. The new regulation requires workplaces in certain sectors which statistically have a greater risk of violence, including pharmaceutical dispensing, health care and education, to develop and follow a violence prevention policy. Employers not working in the sectors outlined as higher risk must assess the risk of violence to workers. The assessment must be done in consultation with a committee or representative at the workplace. If there is no committee or representative, then the assessment must be done with the workers at the workplace. If the assessment identifies a risk of violence, employers must develop a violence prevention policy to protect workers. If a risk of violence has been identified, employers must inform workers about the extent and nature of the risk.
Ontario
Ontario sector-specific safety plans available online
Ontario’s sector-specific safety plans for 2011 to 2012 are available online. The plans, developed by the Ministry of Labour, address specific health and safety issues in the construction industry, the industrial sector, mining, health care and specialized and professional services. The plans map out industry trends in injury and illness, discuss major hazards and outline what inspectors look for in each sector during an inspection. Each plan outlines special enforcement focuses in each sector for 2011 to 2012. New workplace violence and harassment legislation contained in Bill 168 means inspectors will be routinely checking for compliance with the new requirements, according to the report. The plans are available
online at: www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/sawo/sectorplans
Newfoundland and Labrador
WCB releases new privacy statement
The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC) of Newfoundland and Labrador has released a privacy statement to meet the requirements of the province’s Personal Health Information Act (PHIA). The WHSCC prepared a privacy statement to describe the way it handles personal health information. The statement outlines the rights of workers, which include the ability to know who has access to a worker’s records and for what reasons, the right to request a correction of records and the right to be informed about the commission’s policies.
