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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June/July 2014 3 Latest COS videos Coming up online More videos at www.cos-mag.com/video.html July Summer safety Lockout/tagout Gas detection Training August Professional development Forklift safety Discipline for safety OHS legal update Wi-Fi safety Online exclusive: How safe are wireless signals? A new report calls on Heath Canada to continue researching the negative impacts of electro-sensitivity as well as the possible link between cancer and the exposure to radio frequency elds. www.cos-mag.com/wi -safety.html On now @ twitter.com/cosmagazine Join Canadian Occupational Safety group on Follow us on Safety Tip – Electricity Prevent electrocution, electric shock and burn with these 10 safety rules Priorities for Ontario's MOL Kevin Flynn, Ontario's new labour minister, tells COS his key areas of focus for the rest of 2014 DIRECTOR, CARSWELL MEDIA Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9411 PUBLISHER John Hobel john.hobel@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5197 EDITOR Amanda Silliker amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9502 PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Pamela Menezes pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9298 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kathy Liotta kathy.liotta@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9920 Stephen Hill stephen.hill@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5090 MANAGER, MEDIA PRODUCTION Lisa Drummond lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9415 MARKETING MANAGER Mohammad Ali mm.ali@thomsonreuters.com 416-609-5866 ART DIRECTOR Steve Maver CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Keith Fulford keith.fulford @thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9585 COLUMNISTS Legal Cheryl Edwards and Norm Keith Training Glyn Jones Workers' Compensation David Marchione CUSTOMER SERVICE Tel. 416-609-3800 (Toronto)/ 1-800-387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax 416-298-5082 (Toronto)/ 1-877-750-9041 (outside Toronto) carswell.customerrelations@thomsonreuters.com RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 2075 KENNEDY RD., TORONTO, ONT. 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Canadian Occupational Safety is published eight 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: $64 including tax ($59.84 + $4.16 GST); US: $64, 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. AMANDA SILLIKER FROM THE EDITOR cos-mag.com visit us online Walking to remember I t was a miserable, rainy day. It was cold, the wind was blowing, our fi ngers were turning blue, but no one was complaining — it was all for a good cause. It was May 3, the 10th annual Steps for Life walk in Toronto. With 35 locations across the country, the walk is to support families of workplace tragedy. The money raised goes toward Threads of Life, an organization that helps the families of workers who have died on the job, suffered a life-altering injury or contracted an occupational disease. This year, close to $630,000 was raised across Canada and 5,000 people participated in the walk. At the Toronto walk, I listened to a heart-wrenching speech by Ann Grant. She told the story of how her son Evan had died in a work accident in 2011. Evan Horkoff was 25 years old and he was working as an apprentice power line technician at Gailbraith Energy in the mountains in Alberta. His crew was removing temporary transmission lines from the mountain and he had to climb about 25 feet up a pole to do his work. He was dressed in all his safety equipment and harnessed to the poll when the poll collapsed at the base, taking him down the mountain. He was pronounced dead in the hospital an hour and a half later. "Two of us died that day. My son died and I died as well, except I still suffer a heartbeat which I would dearly love to give to him," said Ann. Safety was always a key consideration in the Grant-Horkoff household, as Ann has worked in the electrical distribution industry for more than 10 years. They often spoke about working safely and "for Evan, safety was his number 1 concern," said Ann. The Crown prosecutors told the family that Evan did absolutely nothing wrong; this incident was not something he could have prevented. It took the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety branch two years to investigate, and there were four charges laid against the company, including failure to ensure Evan was safe. To this day, Gailbraith has not entered a plea, there is no trial date set and there is still no resolution for the Grant-Horkoff family. As she spoke, about 10 members of her family watched from the crowd, wiping tears from their eyes. They held pictures of Evan and they brought even the youngest members of the family to participate in the walk, Evan's baby girl cousins who are barely one year old. (See picture on right). The pathway of the walk was lined with pictures of fallen workers and stories about them. It was unbelievably sad to see the workers who ranged in age from 16 to 70 and had worked in a variety of industries, including mining, fi shing, transportation and construction. Events like Steps for Life are a reminder of why we do the work we do. Although I am not on the front lines in workplaces like you are, preventing accidents and saving lives every day, I try to produce a magazine that can educate and help you keep your workers safe, so with every passing year, there will be fewer fallen workers to walk for. Amanda Silliker, Editor amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com of fallen workers and stories about them. It was unbelievably sad to see the workers who ranged in age from 16 to 70 and had worked in a variety of industries, including mining, fi shing, transportation Events like Steps for Life are a reminder of why we do the work we do. Although I am not on the front lines in workplaces like you are, preventing accidents and saving lives every day, I try to produce a magazine that can educate and help you keep your workers safe, so with every passing year, there Amanda Silliker, Editor amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com