Canadian Occupational Safety

November/December 2020

Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.

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F E A T U R E 26 www.thesafetymag.com/ca protect our employee's health and welfare. The opportunity for distraction has never been higher and our partnerships with other levels of management and union members has never been more essential. Our connectedness is what results in success and is the force that will ensure our survival. "We must continue to connect the day-to-day work of our entire organization to the positive safety outcomes of that work. In the airline industry, we need look no further than passengers being greeted by their loved ones after a journey. This emotional moment is created by the entire airline organization coming together in support of the operation. Every single airline employee has a role in creating that moment of embrace, smiles, laughter, tears and joy. " Virginie Tremblay, Director of Health & Safety Management systems at Canada Post/Postes Canada Virginie Tremblay is a health and safety professional with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Sherbrooke. She is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP), a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) and currently volunteers on the internal audit committee of the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP). Tremblay has more than 10 years of progressive managerial experience over a career that has spanned almost two decades. She started her career at L'Oréal Canada, a world leader in cosmetics, skin care and sun protection. She held various managerial roles in operations before joining its Engineering and Facility Management team. In that role, she led the company's safety initiatives and helped bring international recognition to its Montreal plant. Tremblay left L'Oréal for Canada Post in 2014. Since joining its Health and Safety team as national manager, she has led the Crown corporation's national technical health and safety team, which supports engineering, maintenance, real estate and corporate projects. She manages national safety programs and policies related to technical and environmental hazards in more than 6,000 facilities, including 21 mail processing plants across Canada. The Canada Post segment employs about 53,000 people and operates Canada's largest retail network. As one of the Crown corporation's leading safety advocates, Tremblay is a steadfast believer in collaboration, education and continuous improvement. Named director of health and safety management systems in June, in the middle of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Tremblay offers her own succinct perspective on workplace safety. "True safety leaders seek collaboration at all levels and between all functions to prevent workers from getting hurt. That was on full display as the corporation responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Our essential workers emerged as heroes. They continued to support Canadian communities and meet the postal needs of Canadians uninterrupted, even while the company scrambled to introduce new processes and procedures to keep our employees safe. Today, our safety protocols and measures are second to none, but that doesn't mean we don't have work to do. Our company safety slogan is 'Make it safe, Make it home' and that is something we all have to work on 24/7 to ensure it happens." Steve Wrixon, General Manager of Health and Safety at Cementation Canada, Inc. "I am honoured to be named a finalist for Safety Leader of Year. I share this with the current and past leaders of Cementation. I wouldn't be here without their guidance and commitment to health and safety. "To me, being a safety leader starts with exhibiting care and respect for your fellow employees. The people in the mining industry are passionate and hard working, which motivates me to do my best as a safety professional, so they make it home healthy and safe every day. Inspiring others within our organization to strengthen their commitment to make our workplaces safe is the most rewarding part of my job because I know that with a concentrated effort we can make a difference. "In order to be a safety leader, significant time must be spent in the field, interacting with the workforce, gathering ideas, feedback and continually exhibiting visible felt leadership. I enjoy travelling across the country to our projects and I am constantly impressed by the work being performed by our people in challenging conditions. "The most important thing I do is strive to reduce risk to our employees. The best way I can help achieve this is through collaboration. I enjoy bringing together experts within our company and industry to work toward reducing risk for the betterment of the industry. Anything we can do to prevent an injury or illness makes an immeasurable impact to preserve the quality of life of our people and their families, which is what safety is all about." "COVID-19 has changed the OHS profession; it has propelled it to the forefront. Globally, households now understand the importance of personal education and normalized risk assessments and mitigation of risk through controls such as PPE." Angela Keenan, Nova Scotia Health Authority College of Kinesiologists. She has been a Canadian Registered Safety Professional since 2000 and is a part-time professor of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. Oliver has been a member of the Prevention Council of Ontario since 2017. Her vision for workplace health and safety in Ontario is to ensure that every worker goes home as safe and healthy as they started each day. Most recently, Oliver has been awarded the 2020 Recognition Award by the Board of Registered Safety Professionals for her dedication to nurturing and mentoring health and safety practitioners. Robert Palmer, Director of Flight Operations Safety at Air Canada "I am truly humbled and profoundly honoured to be a finalist in this year's Canada's Safety Leader of the Year award process. Being a leader in the world of safety, regardless of the industry or organization, is unquestionably one of the most difficult leadership roles in business today. A safety leader is required to be more than just a safety champion. They must inspire everyone in the organization, build solid relationships based on trust, transparency and honesty and develop our teams to be successful while creating the next generation of great safety leaders. "COVID-19 has been an incredible challenge for us all. Our lives have been disrupted and, in some cases, changed forever. Our careers have become unstable, our assumptions have been eliminated and the very foundation of how we do what we do has been shaken. As a safety leader during these times our skills become critical. We must develop protocols that appeal to the entire organization, that serve our clients and ensure their health is protected and PREVIOUS SAFETY LEADER WINNERS 2019: Mike Doyle, team leader for safety, strategy and operations services, Suncor Energy, St. John's and mayor of the Town of Harbour-Main- Chapel's Cove-Lakeview 2018: Rae Ann Aldridge, executive director, safety and risk services, University of British Columbia (formerly associate vice president of risk at the University of Calgary) 2017: Doug Matthew, director, health, safety and environment, (formerly director of health, safety, wellness and environment at Alectra) 2016: Adrian Khan, director, environmental, health, safety and security for North America, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee 2015: Roxanne McKendry, president, Lexicon Health & Safety Solutions (formerly manager of employee health and safety and infection care

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