Canadian Occupational Safety

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Canadian Occupational Safety is published six times yearly by Thomson Reuters Canada Limited, 2075 Kennedy Road, Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 Telephone 416-649-9926 Fax 416-609-5840; www.cos-mag.com Issue dates are February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November, December/January. Subscription price: Canada: $69 plus tax; US: $69,International: $96 Canadian Occupational Safety makes every effort to ensure accuracy in all items reported, but cannot accept responsibility for the representations or claims made by sources used. Webinars Free webinars are put on regularly by COS sponsors and have covered topics such as physical employment standards, fall protection for tools and hearing loss prevention. The one-hour sessions are delivered by experts from across Canada. Keep checking the link below for new topics. www.cpdcentre.ca/cos The Cannabis Channel Thomson Reuters Media Solutions has launched a resource featuring content from Canada's top legal, human resources and health and safety publications. The site includes reliable news, analysis, experts and resources for professionals looking for answers on all aspects of cannabis and the workplace. www.thecannabischannel.ca Calling all safety superheroes We are looking far and wide for the superheroes of safety. Now in it's ninth year, Canada's Safest Employers recognizes companies with excellent health and safety practices from coast to coast. If your organization takes safety seriously and workers look out for one another, apply now. Application deadline is May 24. www.safestemployers.com Follow us: @cosmagazine Join our group: Canadian Occupational Safety Subscribe: Canadian Occupational Safety Tips from a coroner on due diligence David Eden, regional supervising coroner at the Ontario Ministry of Community Services, shares how coroners look for ways to prevent workplace deaths and explains how "culture is key." www.cos-mag.com/coroner Standing vs. sitting Which is worse: standing or sitting for long periods of time on the job? Marnie Downey, owner of Ergo Inc., sets the record straight and shares her expert tips with us. www.cos-mag.com/standingsitting DIRECTOR, MEDIA SOLUTIONS, CANADA Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9411 PUBLISHER Todd Humber todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5196 EDITOR Amanda Silliker amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9502 ASSISTANT EDITOR - VIDEOGRAPHER Alexia Kapralos ART DIRECTOR Steve Maver PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Pamela Menezes pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9298 ADVERTISING: SALES MANAGER Paul Burton paul.burton@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9928 MANAGER, MEDIA PRODUCTION Lisa Drummond lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com MARKETING MANAGER Robert Symes rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Keith Fulford keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9585 COLUMNISTS Legal Cheryl A. Edwards Professional Development Glyn Jones Safety Culture Dave Fennell CUSTOMER SERVICE Tel. 416-609-3800 (Toronto)/ 1-800-387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax 416-298-5082 (Toronto)/ 1-877-750-9041 (outside Toronto) customersupport.legaltaxcanada@tr.com CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY'S EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Guy Chenard, CRSP, C.E.T. Safety Consultant Dave Gouthro, CRSP, CHSC, CHSO Occupational Health & Safety Consulting David Johnston, CRSP Director, EHS, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. Eldeen Pozniak, CHSC, CHSMSA, CRSP, Director, Pozniak Safety Associates Inc. Laura Rourke, CRSP, Peng, TSRP EHSS manager, Tigercat Industries Dan Strand, CRSP, CIH, ROH Director, Prevention Field Services, WorkSafeBC AMANDA SILLIKER FROM THE EDITOR visit us online cos-mag.com THOMSON REUTERS CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 ON NOW LATEST VIDEOS Printed in WEBINAR SERIES EMPLOYERS SAFEST 2019 CANADA'S 3 2019 FEBRUARY/MARCH Your safety moment I am continually impressed by the safety professionals I meet on trade show floors, at the Canada's Safest Employers awards ceremony and through email exchanges with readers. It's clear to me that there are a ton of exceptional safety professionals out there who are not only making significant positive changes within their organizations, but who are also very interesting individuals. In an attempt to get to know some of you even better and to help you all learn from each other, we have launched a new back page called My Safety Moment (page 22). Here you will gain insight about a colleague with an interesting story to share and learn about their hopes, dreams and current struggles in the world of safety. The page will hopefully not only reinforce the notion that you are all in this together, but also put a smile on your face — something we all need right now. If you would like to suggest a colleague for this new back page, email me at amanda. silliker@tr.com. The big story in this issue — and within the safety profession in general — is regulation (page 18). This has been a hot topic for some time, but it seems to have ramped up recently with the launch of the Alberta Society of Health and Safety Professionals, which is focusing on regulation, and the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals moving forward with its efforts as well. It seems clear to me that the vast majority of safety professionals are generally in favour of regulation, but many have questions and concerns at the same time. Yes, the profession would benefit from regulation in many ways, including preventing incompetent individuals from claiming to be safety professionals, making continuing education a requirement to keep up with a fast-moving industry and perhaps even resulting in higher salaries. However, regulation is a big deal and it causes a lot of change — something many people don't realize. There will be implications for working from province to province, there will be more government-mandated rules to follow and costs for professionals is likely to increase. I believe the time has come for the profession to be regulated as it would further protect the public and ensure the safety advice employers are receiving is up to snuff. But, it's also important to be educated about the ways regulation will affect you and be prepared for change. We have officially launched our ninth annual Canada's Safest Employers (CSE) awards and we are looking for the unsung heroes of safety. Whether you work in health care, mining, transportation or government, we have an award for you. Winning a CSE award not only re-affirms you are doing a great job leading the pack, but it gives you a leg up when recruiting new talent (especially younger generations), helps consistently promote safety internally (having a CSE sticker on a hard hat is great daily reminder) and it may also help win bids for projects or secure contracts (safety is increasingly an important consideration). The nomination deadline is May 24, and I encourage anyone to apply who believes their organization has a strong culture of safety. If your physical safety is not quite where you want it to be yet, consider applying for the special Wellness or Psychological Safety award if you excel in those areas. You can learn more about the entire awards process and access the nomination forms at www.safestemployers.com.

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