Canadian Occupational Safety

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 7 Modernized rules increase farm worker protection in Alberta O n Dec. 1, waged, non-family farm and ranch workers in Alberta will have similar rights and protections as other workers across Canada. These new changes address workplace hazards, safety training and main- tenance of equipment. "Our government has the backs of working people and we value the contributions of Alberta's farm and ranch communities. We have worked collaboratively with farmers, ranch- ers and workers to make changes that ensure workers in Alberta benefit from the same protections as workers in other provinces," said Minister of Labour Christina Gray. Prior to the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, Alberta was the only province without comprehensive health and safety laws for farm and ranch workers. "All workers have a right to return home safely each day. I am confident the new rules will ensure farm and ranch workers are better protected, just like their peers in other provinces," said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Oneil Carlier. Since the government introduced changes to include farms and ranches in workplace health and safety laws in 2016, more than 1,860 agriculture workers have had their workers' compensation claims accepted. This protection provides workers with the supports they need, when they need them, should injury occur. "As an organization that has seen health and safety laws successfully protect workers in other provinces, these new changes are a huge step forward for Alberta's agriculture workers," said Devin Yeager, union labour relations officer, United Food and Commercial Workers. Family members and volunteers will remain exempt from the OHS rules. Neighbours can still provide support to neighbours and kids can still do chores on the farm as they have always done. The new rules were created through extensive consultation with industry stakeholders over the past two years. Industry representatives, including the AgCoalition, an industry-led organization comprised of rep- resentatives from across the agriculture sector, played an essential role in helping the government come to consensus on many of these changes. The rules reflect the need to protect health and safety while preserving the unique way of life on farms and ranches. "Farmers and ranchers in Alberta value health and safety to protect everyone on their work sites and often go above and beyond standard practices. The AgCoalition worked closely with the government to provide grassroots feedback from its membership to ensure the proposed rules reflect the commitment to safety and take into account the unique practicalities of agriculture work," said Albert Kamps, chair, AgCoalition. The AgCoalition created an industry-led non-government organization called AgSafe to work alongside farmers and ranchers as an independent health and safety association. AgSafe will develop programming and additional resources to help farmers and ranchers implement the new rules. Over the next three years, the government will provide $6 million for a farm health and safety producer grant program. Set to launch this fall, it will provide up to $10,000 per recipient to help Alberta farmers and ranchers with waged, non-family workers implement health and safety practices and procedures that make their work sites safe for their workers, their families and themselves. New CSA standard addresses mental health for paramedic community A new standard has been released to protect the psychological safety of Canada's 40,000 para- medics. The CSA standard will address the unique needs of people working in this profession as they experience some of the highest levels of mental illness in the country. "Their job is to run toward danger when logic tells us to flee. They can be the difference between life and death and this can weigh heavily on their shoulders. The rewarding, yet demanding, nature of their work can lead to higher incidences of mental health problems and operational stress injuries like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)," said Louise Bradley, president and CEO of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Paramedics face particular challenges and occupational health and safety issues every day, including: psychological trauma and stress; physi- cal challenges like shift work and extended work periods; and exposure to harsh work environments, such as fires, explosions or violent scenarios. The goal of the standard is to assist paramedic workers and their employers with the following: raising awareness of stigma and harassment; iden- tifying sources of stress and psychological hazards associated with the job; and looking into changes and controls that could help address these hazards. "Paramedics are a unique hybrid of first responder and health-care provider — two rigorous and demanding professions. Building their resili- ency by implementing measures that direct special attention to their psychological health and safety at work should be a priority," said Bradley. According to the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment, RCMP, correctional workers and paramedics are significantly more likely to experience all mental disorders, except alcohol use disorder, when compared with muni- cipal/provincial police or firefighters. The standard was formed based on best practices and research and aided by concepts from the 2013 National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (developed by the CSA Group and the Bureau du normalisation du Québec). "Since its launch five years ago, the (voluntary standard) has been implemented by hundreds of organizations nationally across various sectors and industries," said Bradley. "To see the paramedic community adapt the standard to their specific needs, and now champion this journey, has been an absolute pleasure." Bradley said the paramedic standard is a blue- print to decrease stigma, identify mental health hazards and implement changes to address them. "Ambulances and paramedic stations aren't just essential services — they are workplaces," she said. "We hope paramedic organizations across Canada will implement this new standard and help protect this special workforce." These aspects of the board's decision were confirmed by the review division. The Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal dismissed West Fraser Mills' appeal but reduced the administrative penalty by 30 per cent because of the company's safety record and lack of intent to disregard the safety standards. The British Columbia Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal upheld the tribu- nal's order. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, West Fraser Mills argued the Workers' Compensa- tion Board could not issue a fine to the company because it was an owner — not an employer — and the act only permits fines against employers. But the SCC disagreed and said West Fraser Mills was an employer under the act. While the company was not the direct employer of the worker who died, it was an employer of the work site. In her decision, then Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said, "A broad interpretation of s. 196(1) to include employers under the act whose conduct can constitute a breach of their obligations as owners will best further the statutory goal of promoting workplace health and safety and deter- ring future accidents… This interpretation is also responsive to the real- it y that maintaining workplace safety is a complex exercise involving shared responsibilities of all concerned." But Donald Jordan of Harris and Company in Vancouver, who represented West Fraser Mills, said, "'Employer' is a defined term, and that was the term used by the legislature in the penalty sec- tion (of the Workers Compensation Act), but then they imposed a penalty on West Fraser, who was an owner and met the definition of owner of this particular site." Section 26.2(1) of B.C.'s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation stipulates that "The owner of a forestry operation must ensure that all activi- ties of the forestry operation are both planned and conducted in a manner consistent with this regu- lation and with safe work practices acceptable to the board." According to Laura DeVries, an associate at McCarthy Tétrault in Vancouver, this decision is an important reminder about an owner's work site safety obligations. "Owners must ensure the health and safety of their own employees as well as the employees of other contractors on site. Under B.C.'s workers' compensation scheme, 'owners' and 'employers' can share responsibility for workplace safety with overlapping and interacting duties," she said. "To avoid incurring a fine, owners must take all reason- able precautions to prevent workplace accidents, even if the workers on their property are employed and supervised by independent contractors." This article originally appeared on the Legal Feeds blog, a Thomson Reuters publication.

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