WorkSafeBC proposes workplace violence, harassment policy | Tourism association granted intervenor status in Blue Mountain case | Pilot project helps Nova Scotia farmers implement H&S plans | Manitoba failed to impose penalty for safety violations in 2011: Labour report
WorkSafeBC proposes workplace violence, harassment policy
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s workers’ compensation board is developing a discussion paper and draft OHS policy on workplace bullying and harassment prevention. According to a statement from WorkSafeBC, the move is in line with a pledge from Margaret MacDiarmid, minister of labour, citizens’ services and open government, to prevent workplace bullying and harassment in conjunction with amendments being made to the Workers Compensation Act (Bill 14) relating to compensation for work-related mental disorders. Province-wide consultation is expected to be held in the fall of 2012. The compensation board will also develop an occupational health and safety tool kit for preventing bullying and harassment in the workplace, WorkSafeBC said. For more information about the new tool kit and the draft policy on workplace violence and harassment prevention, visit the WorkSafeBC website.
Tourism association granted intervenor status in Blue Mountain case
COLLINGWOOD, ONT. — The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) has been granted intervener status in the case Blue Mountain Resorts Limited v. Ontario (the Ministry of Labour and the Ontario Labour Relations Board). This case arose in December 2007 when a guest at Blue Mountain Resorts in Collingwood, Ont., drowned in an unsupervised swimming pool. In 2011, the Ontario Labour Relations Board upheld a decision that determined all fatal and critical injuries occurring at a workplace, not just those involving workers but guests as well, should be reported to the Ministry of Labour. This decision was later upheld by the Ontario Divisional Court. “TIAO will make a strong case of how treating premises that are traditionally used by guests as a ‘workplace’ would negatively impact businesses that operate tourist resorts, hotels and facilities,” said Beth Potter, president of TIAO. “We will also be arguing that the OHSA was intended to ensure worker safety issues.” In its 2011 decision, the Ontario Divisional Court said the obligation to report the death was not unreasonable. The obligation to report a death or injury is driven by result rather than cause, it said, so “any event resulting in death or critical injury, even if occurring in circumstances having no potential nexus with worker safety, is reportable so long as they occur in a workplace.” An employer is required to notify the ministry if a non-worker is critically injured or killed at a workplace if the hazard that caused the incident also presents a risk to the health and safety of workers at that workplace, said Matt Blajer, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Labour.
Pilot project helps Nova Scotia farmers implement H&S plans
HALIFAX— The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) has launched a Nova Scotia FarmSafe Pilot Project aimed at helping producers implement health and safety plans on their farms. The project, operating until March 31, 2013, involves a FarmSafe advisor trained by CASA staff to walk farm managers through the process of establishing a health and safety plan. The health and safety plans will be based on the Canada FarmSafe Plan, CASA’s health and safety business risk management tool, while complementing existing Nova Scotia farm safety resources.
Manitoba failed to impose penalty for safety violations in 2011: Labour report
WINNIPEG — Manitoba failed to impose a single penalty for workplace safety violations even though 965 employers failed to comply with safety improvement orders last year, according to the Working Families Manitoba campaign in looking at documents obtained through freedom of information. “Manitoba has some very strong workplace safety laws; it’s too bad they’re not being enforced,” said Kevin Rebeck, spokesperson for the Working Families Manitoba Campaign, a community campaign of the Manitoba Federation of Labour aiming to raise awareness about issues that matter to working families. The report card is available online at www.mfl.ca/2012-workplace-safety-report-card.
