Quebec workers more reluctant to discuss workplace mental health • P.E.I. WCB has new CEO • Ontario low-rise construction blitz results in 3,251 orders • Ontario diamond drilling blitz results in 191 orders • Toolkit teaches newcomers about health and safety in the workplace
Quebec workers more reluctant to discuss workplace mental health
Fewer Quebec workers have experienced a mental health-related illness than Canadian workers as a whole, and are less comfortable sharing their mental health issue with colleagues, according to a Conference Board of Canada survey. According to the survey, 29 per cent of Quebec workers have experienced a mental health-related illness, compared to 32 per cent for Canada. But while 28 per cent of Canadians are comfortable sharing their mental health issue with colleagues, in Quebec the figure is only 21 per cent. The survey, called Building Mentally Healthy Workplaces: Perspectives of Canadian Workers and Front-Line Managers, looked at what organizations can do to create conditions in which employees experiencing mental health issues can work more productively. The survey included 233 respondents from Quebec. When it comes to workplace information about mental health, 18 per cent of Quebec respondents said they received information in the past year, compared to 22 per cent nationally.
P.E.I. WCB has new CEO
The Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island has a new chief executive officer, Sharon Cameron. Cameron was most recently the deputy minister responsible for the WCB under the labour portfolio. Carol Anne Duffy served as the WCB’s CEO since 1999. During her tenure she was able to achieve and sustain a fully funded position for P.E.I.’s workplace safety and compensation system. Duffy is taking on a new role as deputy minister of community services and seniors.
Ontario low-rise construction blitz results in 3,251 orders
An Ontario safety blitz focused on the low-rise construction industry resulted in 333 stop work orders in May. Ministry of Labour mining inspectors conducted 1,068 field visits to 844 workplaces and issued 3,251 orders under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, including 333 stop work orders. The blitz focused on fall protection, site excavations and trenching, concrete form-setting operations, overexertion, safe use of equipment, noisy environments and new and young workers, according to the ministry. Between 2006 and 2010, 26 workers died at low-rise residential construction sites and 329 were critically injured. In 2009 alone, a total of 422 lost-time injury (LTI) claims cost the homebuilding sector $3.4 million — about 18 per cent of the total cost of all construction industry LTI claims for that year.
Ontario diamond drilling blitz results in 191 orders
An Ontario safety blitz focused on the diamond drilling industry resulted in 63 stop work orders in June. Ministry of Labour mining inspectors visited 38 workplaces during the month-long blitz, some of them more than once. In total, 61 visits were made resulting in 191 orders. During June 2011, 65 per cent of the orders were for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The rest of the orders were for violations involving the Regulation for Mines and Mining Plants, according to the ministry. Since January 2009, seven workers at diamond drill operations received serious injuries. Two of the workers received critical injuries resulting from entanglement in rotating drill equipment. During the same period, the workforce for surface diamond drill operations increased by 64 per cent.
Toolkit teaches newcomers about health and safety in the workplace
A new resource from the Institute for Work and Health (IWH) has been created to help settlement agencies and others teach newcomers to Ontario about their health and safety rights and duties in the workplace. The free kit, Prevention is the Best Medicine, contains 11 items needed to deliver instructional sessions on occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation. The toolkit is designed to be delivered to recent immigrants who are preparing to enter the labour force, according to the IWH. The toolkit includes handouts, sample lesson plans, slide show presentations and more. It is free for download from www.iwh.on.ca/pbm.
