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.
Issue link: https://digital.thesafetymag.com/i/358709
December/January 2014 3 Latest COS videos Coming up online More videos at www.cos-mag.com/videos December Plant shutdown Industrial hygiene OHS Legal Update January Slips and trips Winter safety OHS Legal Update Combustible dust Safety Leader of the Year Watch our new video of David Johnston, director, EHS at Toronto Hydro and nd out why he took home the 2013 award. Health and Safety Outlook Exclusive video: Our panel of experts reveal what topics will be top of mind for every OHS professional in 2014. visit us online cos-mag.com On now @ twitter.com/cosmagazine Join Canadian Occupational Safety group on Follow us on Safety Tips Safety best practices to keep your workers and your workplaces safe Highlights from Canada's Safest Employers award The winners of the 2013 award were honoured at a gala event in Toronto in October READER COMMENTS 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 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AND VIDEOGRAPHER Zachary Pedersen 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 Ellen Alstein ellen.alstein@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9926 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 Re: The future of health and safety (by Maureen Shaw on www.cos-mag.com) Maureen, you make some very valid points regarding the need for companies to integrate health and safety as part of their core business. Health and safety has been embraced by many companies here in Canada and internation- ally and these organizations tend to be more successful and profi table as a consequence. However, as you alluded to, the statistics continue to raise concerns over the level of "buy-in" across industry sectors here in Canada. We need to improve. Many companies need a change of mind set from seeing safety as a cost rather than an invest- ment. Here at the Trucking Safety Council of BC, like other safety associat ions, we are assisting companies with their OHS/RTW programs, helping them achieve that paradigm shift. I am confi dent that over time the cumulative net result of these efforts will ultimately result in safer, healthier workplaces and, importantly, healthy Canadian workers, giving them the ability to go home to their families and communities in tip-top shape after a day's work. - John McMahon, executive director, Trucking Safety Council of BC Safety leader celebrated D avid Johnston is an excellent example of the qualities every safety leader should possess: He is passionate, warm-hearted, a self-proclaimed perfectionist and committed to keeping workers safe. I spent the day with Johnston, director of environmental, health and safety at Toronto Hydro, and I truly saw the impact he has. His supervisor, colleagues and employees gushed about his fantastic leadership and the accomplishments the utility company has achieved under his guidance. We visited a Toronto Hydro offi ce and then went on a site visit to see how the safety message resonates in the fi eld. The workers conducted a tailboard talk before they began their work on the overhead power lines, outlining all the potential risks and how to mitigate them. It is clear Johnston has succeeded in making safety a top priority at Toronto Hydro. I am pleased to announce Johnston is the winner of our 2013 Safety Leader of the Year award. Not one, but three nominations came in to support his stellar work at Toronto Hydro. (See page 14 to learn more about Johnston and his accomplishments.) Nominations for the 2014 award will launch in April. Also in this issue, Vawn Himmelsbach takes a look at the hot topic of bus driver safety. This issue has been making headlines a lot this year. Montreal's transit authority, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), launched a campaign to shed light on the increasing number of attacks on late night bus routes. Employees wore T-shirts that read "Our security, your security," to raise awareness. In 2013, STM says it is headed towards a total of 300 attacks. In Ottawa, OC Transpo and the public was devastated when a bus collided with a Via rail train in September, killing the driver and fi ve passengers. It's situations like these that remind us of the importance of driver training as well as the support for employees in the aftermath of traumatic events. (See page 18 to fi nd out what legislation is in the works to better protect public transit workers). In November, I hosted a panel discussion with OHS experts for our annual Health and Safety Outlook. The panellists were charged with looking into their crystal balls and determining what issues would be at the forefront for every safety professional in 2014. It was no surprise that random drug and alcohol testing made the list. The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in June in the Irving Pulp and Paper case really made employers think twice about instituting random testing in their workplaces. Mental health continues to be a hot topic, with health and safety professionals fi nding themselves having to grasp not just the physical safety of their workers, but psychological safety as well. (Check page 22 to see what other topics made the list.) I'm looking forward to 2014 and seeing how the role of the safety professional continues to evolve. As always, I want to hear from you. Let me know if you have ideas for the magazine or if there are some topics you want more information on in the New Year. Amanda Silliker, Editor amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 2075 KENNEDY RD., TORONTO, ONT. M1T 3V4 Contents of Canadian Occupational Safety are copyright © 2013 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited and may not be reproduced in whole or part without written consent. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. HST/GST # 89717 6350 RT0002 QST # 1019064405 TQ0005 Canada Post – Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 40065782 International Standard Serial Number 0008-4611. Printed in The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, colour transparencies or other materials. Manuscripts or other materials must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. 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