Nanaimo News Bulletin, March 05, 2013

Page 1

Food star VIU student wins People’s Choice at culinary competition. PAGE 19 Funny man Comedian Tom Green brings his unique take to Harbour City. PAGE 20 Reno wrap-up Retailer’s Nanaimo location undergoes overhaul. PAGE 7

Basketball champions PAGE 26

www.nanaimobulletin.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

VOL. 24, NO. 131

WorkSafe targets safety violations Falls account for highest percentage of injury claims to provincial regulator BY CHRIS BUSH

THE NEWS BULLETIN

Fines gravitated toward construction firms that failed to provide proper fall prevention and asbestos protection in 2012. WorkSafe B.C. released its annual penalty report last week, showing fines imposed on employers that violated the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and Workers Compensation Act at work sites across the province. The organization imposed 260 penalties against 225 employers, tallying $2.9 million for the year. The majority of fines – 85 per cent – were levied against the construction industry. Of those, 14 per cent were for violations in working around asbestos, but a far greater proportion – 59 per cent – were for inadequate use of fall protection. “In the residential construction industry falls from heights is the leading cause of injury,” said Alexandra Skinner-Reynolds, WorkSafe B.C. spokeswoman. In fact, falls account for 25 per cent of injury claims and 35 per cent of all claims costs in the construction sector. That translated into $192 million in claims costs from 2006-

10. Those factors prompted WorkSafe B.C. in 2008 to focus 16 enforcement officers on fall protection safety violations on job sites with a special emphasis on steep slope roofing and construction in residential, smaller operations which seems to be where the most safety violations and injuries occur. “Why it’s happening? We’re trying to find out,” SkinnerReynolds said. “We initiated a roofing inspection blitz last summer that ran through the fall. We wrote orders where we found non-compliance, but we also talked with workers and employers during the process about what’s going on. We know that a lot of employers know the rules and they don’t use fall protection, so the feedback we’re getting is important and what we’re really trying to focus on is changing the culture in the industry.” Skinner-Reynolds said WorkSafe B.C. doesn’t slap penalties on employers for their first infraction. Several warning letters are issued and other methods are used to educate employers about proper safety procedures first. By the time fines are imposed an employer has usually shown a willful disregard for the rules. ◆ See ‘PROTOCOLS’ /2

NIOMI PEARSON/THE NEWS BULLETIN

Ron Cantelon, Parksville-Qualicum MLA, addresses the crowd during Friday’s announcement, watched by Dennis Trudeau, Regional District of Nanaimo general manager of transportation. The RDN will see 25 new buses running on compressed natural gas added to its fleet.

New transit buses to run on natural gas BY NIOMI PEARSON THE NEWS BULLETIN

The Re gional District of Nanaimo was the natural choice for B.C. Transit’s first compressed natural gas (CNG) fleet of buses, said Manuel Achadinha, president and CEO of B.C. Transit. On Friday, the regional district, along with B.C. Transit, announced the addition of 25 new CNG buses which will be in service by spring 2014. B.C. Transit is looking to

replace about 35 per cent of its fleet (approximately 1,000 buses) over the next five years and considered several communities to pilot the new buses, such as Kamloops and Victoria. In the end, they were looking for a community with a larger fleet (more than 25 buses) that was already looking to replace its aging fleet, that had both infrastructure and community support in place. “With Nanaimo, you put a tick by all of those things, and that’s what made a very easy choice

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for us,” Achadinha said. “This is the latest in fleet innovation and we’re really proud to be doing it in Nanaimo.” The RDN’s fuelling station, which was completed last year, was built with the possibility of hosting CNG in the future, and over the next eight months, will be outfitted to support two diesel and two CNG pumps. The approximate cost to put the new infrastructure in place will amount to approximately $1.5-2 million. ◆ See ‘NATURAL’ /4


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