OHS CANADA September 2014

C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E S E PTE MBE R 2014

C A N A D A

Lasting Solvents play tricks on the mind

UNDER ONE ROOF

The shadowed existence of live-in caregivers

SILVER THREADS

Ridding risk from an aging workforce

I SPY

Injured workers under the gaze

THE MIDDLEMAN

Partners in workplace protection

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C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

FEATURES

C OGN ITIV E IM PAIR M EN T 18

CC A A NNA AD DA A

Solvent Syndrome

S E P T E M B E R 201 4 Vo l u m e 3 0, Nu mb e r 6

The effects may not be immediately apparent, but workers who are exposed to solvents could face neurological effects later in life.

BY WILLIAM M. GLENN

LIV E-IN C AR EGIV ER S 24

Domestic Troubles

Tucked into the folds of domestic work, live-in caregivers in private homes are vulnerable to abuse and slipping off the radar of workplace safety regulators.

BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

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AGIN G WOR KF OR C E

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Golden Years

Canada’s workforce demographic is changing. What are the emerging health and safety challenges, as baby boomers in workplaces head into their twilight years?

BY DANNY KUCHARSKY

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AC C ID EN T P R EV EN TION

Laws of Attraction

Electric and magnetic fields, which are all around us, can have adverse health effects on workers who are exposed to them. Basic safety precautions can go a long way.

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S AF ETY GEAR

The Missing Link

A distributor plays a pivotal role in helping manufacturers extend the reach of their personal protective equipment and providing value-added service to end users.

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BY JASON CONTANT

IN THIS ISSUE 4

PA N O R A MA

6

BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

N EW S

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TIM E OUT

WorkSafeBC revamps investigation process; teen worker killed in Alberta; prison overcrowding in Saskatchewan hikes violence risk; Ontario tables bill to protect interns; rail company contests reinstatement of Quebec worker; cause of Nova Scotia derailment cited; and more.

D IS PAT C HES

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BU YER ’S GU IDE P R O D U C T S HO W CAS E A D IN D EX

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Smartphone breaks keep workers happy; name tags spark controversy; and more.

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WOR KER S ’ C OM P EN S ATION

Big Brother’s Watching

ED IT O R IA L

Over the Edge

COVER ILLUSTRATION:

DEPARTMENTS

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is giving “watchful gaze” a new meaning by increasing the use of surveillance to look into questionable claims.

Soccer fever; wheels on the bus go round and round; rock rage; drop dead; smackdown justice; and more.

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Tomorrow — your reward for working safely today.

– ROBERT PELTON

y. www.ohscanada.com

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SEPTEMBER 2014

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A D I NDE

EDITORIAL C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

Over the Edge T

EDITOR JEAN LIAN jlian@ohscanada.com

he RCMP’s announcement that it has started tracking officer suicides is like an echo that has finally hit a wall and bounced back, long after the first cry was made.

The numbers are sobering: four suicides among RCMP ranks and retirees have been reported so far this year. Since 2006, 31 serving or retired members have taken their lives.

For many, suicide is an uncomfortable — even a taboo — topic. Looking into the abyss to understand the forces that can overcome the all-powerful survival instinct is terrifying.

The closest experience that I have to work-related emotional trauma took place when I was part of the corporate-communications team with the transportation ministry in Singapore. On December 19, 1997, passenger plane Silkair MI185, travelling from Indonesia to Singapore, crashed into a remote river in Indonesia, killing all 104 people on board. The crisis-response plan kicked in, and I, along with my colleagues, was rostered to staff the communications centre at the airport.

Press conferences, attended by distraught family members, were held regularly.

In one of the press conferences broadcasted live nationwide, the brother of one of the deceased passengers burst into the venue and launched an emotional tirade.

Instead of hauling the man out, the airline’s public affairs manager went up to hug the man, who burst into tears. The scene of the two men hugging on national television served as a poignant image that rallied the country during a time of crisis.

One night after doing a shift at the airport, I was getting ready to go to bed when I started bawling for no apparent reason. It was only then that I realized that being part of the team responding to the aviation accident had taken an emotional toll on me. Compared to what first responders go through every day, dealing with traumatic deaths and violent crimes, what I experienced was a drop in the ocean.

Considering that we spend the bulk of our waking hours on the job, the work environment has a significant influence on our emotional and psychological wellbeing. Deliberate self-harm is a complex issue, driven by factors that include prior attempts to hurt oneself, mental illness, occupational risk, drug and alcohol abuse, neurobiological factors, socio-economic forces, a history of childhood or sexual abuse and even geographical location, like living in rural communities.

Certain situations can increase one’s vulnerability to traumatic stress. Non-profit organization The Trauma Centre in Brookline, Massachusetts cites the following: having no control over the volume of calls; having to respond to calls after an especially disturbing one; being in the service for a long time; having a partner or a peer seriously injured or killed on the job; witnessing horrifying events; or experiencing the death of a child in the line of duty.

Typically, there is at least one immediate stressor before a suicide attempt. One of the four RCMP officers who killed themselves this year was Ken Barker, who witnessed the beheading of a passenger on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba in 2008.

Another example is South African journalist Kevin Carter, who took the awardwinning photograph of a vulture stalking an emaciated girl who was making her way to a feeding camp during Sudan’s famine in 1993. Carter, who reportedly took the picture and left, as he was told not to touch the children for fear of transmitting disease, killed himself three months after winning the Pulitzer Prize.

We may never know what led those people to take the irreversible step, but what we do know is that of those who have peered into the abyss, not all will live to see the light at the end of the tunnel. While the grief of losing officers to suicide may be too deep for tears, it would be an ignominy if occupational suicides were deemed too dark for words. Acknowledging that big boys do cry would help pull those teetering on the edge of work-related post-traumatic stress disorder back from the brink.

Jean Lian

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SEPTEMBER 2014

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C A N A D A

Vol. 30, No. 6 SEPTEMBER 2014

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Pipeline Magazine

JASON CONTANT JContant@bizinfogroup.ca

CARMELLE WOLFSON ASSISTANT EDITOR cwolfson@ohscanada.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT JEFF COTTRILL jcottrill@ohscanada.com ART DIRECTOR PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER MARKETING SPECIALIST CIRCULATION MANAGER

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

PUBLISHER

PRESIDENT, BUSINESS INFORMATION GROUP

ANNE MIRON PHYLLIS WRIGHT GARY WHITE DIMITRY EPELBAUM BARBARA ADELT badelt@bizinfogroup.ca SHEILA HEMSLEY shemsley@ohscanada.com PETER BOXER pboxer@ohscanada.com BRUCE CREIGHTON

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

DAVID IRETON, Safety Professional, Brampton, Ont. AL JOHNSON, Vice President, Prevention Services WorkSafeBC, Richmond, B.C. JANE LEMKE, Program Manager, OHN Certification Program, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ont.

DON MITCHELL, Safety Consultant, Mississauga, Ont. MICHELE PARENT, National Manager, Risk Management and Health and Wellness,

Standard Life, Montreal, Que. TERRY RYAN, Workers’ Compensation and Safety Consultant, TRC Group Inc., Mississauga, Ont. DON SAYERS, Principal Consultant, Don Sayers & Associates, Hanwell, N.B. DAVID SHANE, National Director, Health and Safety, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa, Ont. HENRY SKJERVEN, President, The Skjerven Cattle Company Ltd., Wynyard, Sask.

PETER STRAHLENDORF, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Health, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ont. JONATHAN TYSON, Association of Canadian Ergonomists/Association canadienne d’ergonomie, North Bay, Ont.

OHS CANADA is the magazine for people who make decisions about health and safety in the workplace. It is designed to keep workers, managers and safety professionals informed on oh&s issues, up to date on new developments and in touch with current thinking in the oh&s community.

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Date of issue: SEPTEMBER 2014

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Editorial Sept 2014.indd 5

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panorama $600,000 Rebate as a result of the Certificate of Recognition awarded to BC Ferries. The incentive stems from the success of SailSafe, an initiative that trimmed BC Ferries’ annual time-loss injuries from 367 in 2007 to 143 in 2013.

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Source: Canadian Occupational Health and Safety News

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1. Heading South: The number of workers hurt on the job in Alberta dropped to an all-time low in 2013. Latest statistics from the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta indicate that the lost-time claim rate is 1.34 per 100 person-years worked, down from 1.40 in 2012. The disabling-injury rate in some of the province’s key sectors — construction, manufacturing and oil and gas development — also fell.

Source: Alberta Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour

2. Safeguarding Guards: The new Security Guard Sector Plan in Manitoba seeks to enhance the safety of not only the public, but also those who work in the security-guard industry. The plan, announced on July 7

by Labour and Immigration Minister Erna Braun, contains measures that include introducing new resource materials to improve bidding practices and continuing to focus on site-specific inspections and enforcement measures to beef up the safety of security guards.

Source: Government of Manitoba

Encouraging Trend: Harassment in Canadian workplaces has decreased by a small, but significant amount since 2012, says a poll commissioned by the Queen’s School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. Responses from 1,500 workers polled in April found that the percentages of workers who have experienced workplace harassment and witnessed co-workers harassing others were 23 per cent and 25 per cent respectively, down from 28 and 33 per cent from a similar poll conducted in 2012.

Source: Queen’s School of Business 3.

4. On the Ball: Nova Scotia is putting more safety inspectors on the job and increasing surprise inspections in high-risk industries to protect workers better. Five new inspectors will conduct inspections and increase education in workplaces. Targeted inspections of high-risk workplaces carried out in June increased by 25 per cent since the last round of inspections that took place last fall.

Source: Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour and Advanced Education 5. Yoke of Youth: The Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island’s efforts on youth-safety education aim to help restaurant employers keep their employees safe. The board’s youth-education consultant Clare Waddell visited Island restaurants over the summer to distribute the Guide for Employers of Young Workers and to discuss ways to develop safe work habits in the young.

Source: Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I.

360°

BRAIN DRAIN At least six top AIDS researchers and activists on their way to a conference in Australia were among the 298 passengers killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine on July 18. The 20th annual International AIDS Conference in Melbourne commemorated the victims, which included prominent Dutch researcher and former president of the International AIDS Society Joep Lange and Geneva-based World Health Organization spokesperson Glenn Thomas.

Source: The Associated Press

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SEPTEMBER 2014

panorama Sept 2014.indd 6

$150,000 Fine issued to Vale Canada Ltd. on June 13, following a sulphur-dust explosion that injured five workers on October 18, 2012. Inadequate sulphur-dust control and the failure to eliminate all potential sources of ignition were contributing factors.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour

$90,000

Penalty issued to Home Depot of Canada Inc. on July 22, after a worker was injured by falling merchandise while receiving a load from a trailer in the company’s Bradford store last April.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour

$70,000

Amount contributed by Local 1976 of the United Steelworkers union in Montreal to a legal-defence fund for workers charged in connection with the Lac-Mégantic train derailment in July 2013.

Source: United Steelworkers

ohs canada

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Your #1 SOURCE of Occupational Health & Safety Information

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On Edge

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SILVERY

Caring at arm’s length

white

Promulgating safety in a diverse workforce

Tracing the safety steps of uranium mining

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE Stun guns spark concerns

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BEHIND THE WHEEL

Keeping an eye out for cab drivers

IN THE TRENCHES

ART OF SPEAKING

A HELPING HAND

CRYSTAL GAZING

Shoring up safety in excavation work

Teachers at higher risk of speech and language disorders

FERTILE GROUND

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Piecing together an ammonium nitrate explosion

Benchmarking tool predicts safety performance

Workforce challenges in the oil and gas sector

VIRTUAL INTRUDERS

Guarding against cyber-breaches

ELUSIVE ENEMY

On the defensive against influenza

IN SYNC

Wellness indicators for healthcare workers

DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE

Getting a handle on workplace disability

HARD OF HEARING

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OH&S UPDATE

OVERLOADING, WEATHER CITED FEDERAL — Overloading and inclement

weather contributed to a fatal tugboat accident last year, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) concludes.

On July 22, the TSB released its report into the capsizing and accidental death aboard the tugboat Western Tugger while towing the barge Arctic Lift I, 33 nautical miles southwest of Burgeo, Newfoundland. The report identifies minimal clearance above the water (freeboard), poor weather conditions and a non-functional emergency tow release as factors that led to the incident.

On May 10, 2013, the Arctic Lift I developed a large starboard list or a right-side leaning, while being towed by the Western Tugger. The list may have been the result of several factors: water shipped on deck; down-flooding through hatches that were not adequately sealed; possible damage to the barge en route, resulting in water ingress; or unsecured

cargo that had shifted, affecting the barge’s stability.

As the master aboard the Western Tugger wanted to be able to release the barge in case it sank, he “directed a deckhand to the winch room to loosen a secondary brake, which had been added to the winch to assist the main brake,” the report notes. “Moments later, the forward end of the barge rose out of the water and the barge capsized.”

The sudden strain on the secondary brake drum caused it to shatter, projecting shards into the winch room. Other crew members were alerted by the loud noise of the drum shattering and came to the aid of the deckhand to administer first aid. The worker was airlifted to hospital, but died before he arrived.

The TSB investigation identified the following safety issues at play during the tow: an emergency tow release that could not be operated immediately; hatches that were not reliably watertight; cargo that was unsecured; risk assessments and safe work practices that

did not identify or mitigate the potential hazard associated with the installation of the nut and bolt assembly on the secondary brake and the requirement that it be manually released in an emergency; minimal freeboard; and a safety-management system that, although under development, had not been implemented prior to the occurrence.

ERROR CAUSES DISRUPTION VANCOUVER — Human error led to a recent service disruption on Vancouver’s light rapid-transit system.

The city’s transit authority, TransLink, says an electrician was installing a new circuit breaker for the SkyTrain’s Evergreen Line at a power-distribution panel on July 21, when he accidentally tripped the main breaker feeding the critical systems at SkyTrain’s operations centre. The error resulted in a system-wide shutdown of train controls, causing a five-hour delay on the SkyTrain’s Millennium and

AGENCY OVERHAULS INVESTIGATION PROCESS RICHMOND — Several months after Crown prosecutors in British Columbia concluded that WorkSafeBC had botched an investigation into the Babine Forest Products explosion and fire two years ago, the regulator says it will implement recommendations to strengthen various aspects of its operations.

The WorkSafeBC Review and Action Plan, released on July 15 by Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills and Responsible for Labour, includes 43 recommendations to help ensure that future investigations will be handled correctly. WorkSafeBC administrator Gordon Macatee prepared the 192-page report, which also addresses the separation of enforcement versus regulation and the incorporation of best practices. Among the recommendations are the following: • Develop a policy to guide referrals to the Criminal Justice Branch for prosecution; • I mplement a sustained compliance plan for sawmills; • Implement a new investigation model that preserves the ability to conduct both cause and prosecution investigations; • Consider developing a memorandum of understanding with the appropriate agencies to ensure that the regulator is notified whenever there is a fire at a workplace in the province; • D evelop a hierarchy of enforcement tools; • Routinely schedule some prevention officers to conduct inspections on weekends and evenings to create an ongoing and effective level of presence in the workplace; and • Add two new members to WorkSafeBC’s board of directors:

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one who has legal and/or regulatory experience and one who is an oh&s professional.

The action plan was released at the same time that the labour ministry provided the results of the fourth phase of WorkSafeBC’s Combustible Dust Initiative, which showed that 84 per cent of provincial sawmills were in compliance — up from 58 per cent in Phase 3.

A backgrounder from the labour ministry reports that inspections prioritized the 61 sawmills that had received orders during Phase 3 inspections, and 82 per cent of those locations were in compliance. Other wood manufacturers — such as pressed-board manufacturers, pellet mills and oriented-strandboard manufacturers, which tend to be much smaller operations — had a much lower compliance rate of 40 per cent.

“WorkSafeBC assured me that they did not wait for the action plan to start dealing with the low compliance rates at other wood-manufacturing operations,” Bond says. “They are working with mills and, as necessary, penalizing them to ensure compliance, and that follow-up inspections are already planned and will be made regularly.”

But Stephen Hunt, western Canada director of the United Steelworkers union, says the action plan fails to restore confidence in the regulator’s ability to keep workers safe. He adds that the union is calling for a public inquiry into sawmill explosions in the province.

— By Jason Contant

S E P T E M B E R 2014 ohs canada

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Expo Line networks.

“Our trains are reliable 95 per cent of the time, but we know that is little consolation for customers who are delayed for hours when we do have a significant breakdown,” says Doug Kelsey, TransLink’s chief operating officer.

Louise Oetting, national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says the power-distribution panel in question is poorly designed and that CUPE members have raised the safety hazards and the potential for failure on several occasions. “This panel should not be worked on during SkyTrain operating hours,” she notes.

Oetting reports that the power technician was suspended on the morning after the incident, but the supervisor who had directed him to work on the panel was not. The suspended employee is a member of CUPE Local 7000, which represents 537 SkyTrain workers.

“Now we have a situation where an individual has been suspended after being directed to work in an unsafe manner,” Oetting charges, adding that the union will conduct its own investigation.

OVERCROWDING HIKES RISK SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) has charged that poisonous work environments in the province’s prison system could spark violence that threatens the safety of correctional officers.

A statement issued on July 7 by SGEU president Bob Bymoen cites inmate overcrowding and lack of staff support as two main problems Saskatchewan prisons face. “The government has got lots of pressure on corrections, on all the management of all the ministries, to keep the number of employees down,” Bymoen says. “Even though the number of inmates keeps increasing, they don’t want to increase the number of staff to deal with the programming and the security.”

The provincial government had been planning to build a Saskatoon remand centre, but the project was postponed.

The impending closure of the Battlefords Community Correctional Centre in North Battleford will exacerbate the problem even more, Bymoen suggests. Double-

bunking has become a common practice in correctional centres, while other inmates are being kept in areas not intended to house them, including gyms.

The SGEU’s concerns are, in part, a response to an incident at the Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre on June 29, when a fight broke out between members of different gangs. Two inmates sustained stab wounds.

Bymoen cites gang sprinkling — the mixing of rival gang members within the same prison — as one cause of violence.

Due to shortage of space, gang enemies have to share areas in closed, contained environments. “Most of the time, what happens is a violent situation.” Getting caught in the middle of this are other inmates and corrections workers, he adds.

Bymoen also claims that some employers are denying vacation leave to workers and making part-time employees work full-time to compensate for the understaffing. “It is a tough situation,” he says. “All we can do is ask management to rethink those decisions and set up the processes for the workers to be able to talk to the management.”

The classic OH&S resource is now available in two formats Also known as the “Green Book”, the Pocket Ontario OH&S Act & Regulations has become the go-to OH&S resource for Ontario companies in the industrial, manufacturing, mining, health care, and construction sectors. Now this classic pocket guide is also available in a new larger format with coloured tabs.

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News Sept 2014.indd 9

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YOUNG WORKER KILLED ON SITE WINTERING HILLS — A 15-year-old worker has died after be-

coming entangled in a conveyor at a worksite.

The oh&s division of Alberta Human Services (AHS) is investigating the accident, which occurred on July 19 at a gravel-crushing site near Wintering Hills, Alberta. The victim, Christopher Lawrence, was an employee of Arjon Construction Ltd. in Calgary.

Brookes Merritt, spokesperson for AHS, says it is “exceptionally tragic” when someone this young is killed on the job. Despite Lawrence’s age, AHS is not conducting an employment-standards investigation of the incident. “It is just a straight-up oh&s investigation,” Merritt says. “The age of the worker doesn’t have anything to do with it right now.”

In a statement issued on July 21, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) blames the province’s labour laws for the fatality.

“Alberta’s child-labour laws are among the most lax in Canada,” AFL’s secretary treasurer Siobhan Vipond says. “The AFL has repeatedly made recommendations to improve working conditions and safety standards, specifically for young workers. This weekend’s tragic news is yet another reminder that much more needs to be done to keep Albertans safe at work.”

On April 11, the AFL submitted to the government a 34page review of the province’s employment standards, which included numerous urgent recommendations about youth

workers. “Alberta needs targeted inspections of workplaces that employ 15 to 17-year-olds, especially in construction and other comparatively dangerous occupations,” Vipond says, describing Alberta as “one of the most unsafe places for young people to work.”

It is permissible in Alberta for people as young as 15 to work in a potentially dangerous job. The only rule involves working on graveyard shifts. Merritt says a worker aged between 15 and 17 working after midnight must be accompanied by an adult supervisor. The requirements for health and safety training are the same as those for adult workers.

As the rate of occupational injuries among younger workers in the province tends to be higher, “young workers are certainly a focus of our efforts in terms of education and awareness and preventing injury in the workplace,” he adds.

According to the AFL, half of recently surveyed working adolescents in the province have experienced one or more occupational injuries over the past year. Youth workers are especially vulnerable to unsafe work, hazardous materials and sexual harassment.

“We have been taking steps to try to determine how and why this accident occurred and to ensure that such an event does not occur again,” Arjon manager Darryl Wiebe says.

— By Jeff Cottrill

Congratulations to the following OHS professionals who have recently been granted the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)® Professionnel en sécurité agréé du Canada (PSAC)® designation.

Meagan Aarts, CRSP Olateju Adelowokan, CRSP Richard Ahern, CRSP Kenza Akesbi, CRSP Hamid Ardehali, CRSP Cyril Ikechukwu (Ike) Asagwara, CRSP Anthony Ashun-Codjiw, CRSP Donald Baergen, CRSP Shawna Barsi, CRSP David E. Bassey, CRSP Amanda Baxter, CRSP Micheal Baxter, CRSP Troy Baxter, CRSP Stephen Beaton, CRSP Chris Beaudry, CRSP Mounir Benchamma, CRSP Elaine Benoit, CRSP Veronique Bisaillon, CRSP Norman Bootsman, CRSP Andre Bouchard, CRSP Eric Brideau, CRSP Nina Brown, CRSP Daniel Bukvic, CRSP Ian Bullock, CRSP Tanya Butts, CRSP Davide Careddu, CRSP John Chant, CRSP Courtney Christie, CRSP Sandra Ciparis, CRSP Rob Coates, CRSP Michael Cocco, CRSP Kalvin Coleman, CRSP Rita Coshan, CRSP Christopher Cowley, CRSP Lori Curtis, CRSP Bronwen Davies, CRSP James Davies, CRSP

Allistair Davis, CRSP Vincenzo Delle Donne, CRSP Dane R. Deman, CRSP Rick Demaray, CRSP Felix Dion, CRSP Corey Dolan, CRSP Daran Downie, CRSP Rachel Drew, CRSP Erin Duddy, CRSP John Evinger, CRSP Amr K. Fahmy, CRSP Jonathan Faloon, CRSP Akinloye Michael Fasami, CRSP Sithara Fernando, CRSP Ryan Fizzell, CRSP Paul Fontenot, CRSP Neal Foy, CRSP Ernie Franz, CRSP Melissa Gagnon, CRSP Jerry Gibson, CRSP Rory Gibson, CRSP H. Martin Gillis, CRSP Lucie Giroux, CRSP Giovanni Grande, CRSP Anne Christina Guinard, CRSP Mark Hadfield, CRSP Tina Hancharuk, CRSP Dwayne Hanson, CRSP Michael Harris, CRSP Vic Harrison, CRSP Kathy Harvey, CRSP Shaofeng (Dennis) He, CRSP David Healey, CRSP Patricia Heasman, CRSP Kimberley Henney, CRSP Dan Holliday, CRSP Jordan R. Holt, CRSP Britt Howard, CRSP

Darryl Huculak, CRSP Bonny Hull, CRSP Douglas Hurl, CRSP Ahmed Hussein, CRSP Shawn Hutchinson, CRSP Ronald Ireland, CRSP Anita James, CRSP Ian Jamieson, CRSP Jeffrey Jamieson, CRSP Dinshaw Jamshedji, CRSP Fred Johnson, CRSP Stephen Jones, CRSP Tara Jukes, CRSP Harbinder Kamo, CRSP Michael Kary, CRSP Darren F. Kavli, CRSP Robert Kay, CRSP Peter (Sean) Kearney, CRSP Glenn Keenan, CRSP Peter Kerz, CRSP Christopher L.H. Kett, CRSP Amanda Kimmel, CRSP Tim Kingdon, CRSP Wendy Kirk, CRSP Dawn Kitchen, CRSP Justin Kologie, CRSP Stacy (Shelley) Kunkel, CRSP Jennifer Kurulok, CRSP Peter Lacombe, CRSP Guy Langevin, CRSP Sarah Langille, CRSP David Larson, CRSP Leanne Larwill, CRSP Stephen Lawn, CRSP Steve Lerner, CRSP Kitty Tsz Yan Leung, CRSP Vicki Lloyd, CRSP Allison Gus Loder, CRSP

Stephania Lombardo, CRSP Brent Lukian, CRSP Edison MacDonnell, CRSP Don Malesza, CRSP Melinda Mallery, CRSP Michael Maloney, CRSP Jennifer (Jenny) Martin, CRSP Laurie Martin, CRSP Tony Martineau, CRSP Peter May, CRSP David McAuley, CRSP Ian McDonnell, CRSP Patrick McGraw, CRSP Abelard McGrevy, CRSP Roger McKellar, CRSP Karen McKissick, CRSP Daryl McKnight, CRSP Faith Rashell McManus, CRSP Rene Melanson, CRSP Andy Mendel, CRSP Natasha Mesnic, CRSP Isabelle Messier, CRSP Timothy Metcalfe, CRSP Jody Mitton, CRSP Rosemarie K. Mocan, CRSP Colin Moores, CRSP Colin Morrish, CRSP Jodi Mounsef, CRSP Philip Mroz, CRSP Patricia Murdoch, CRSP Thomas Murphy, CRSP Vincent Murphy, CRSP Mike Myers, CRSP Dolly Nathan, CRSP Mqondisi Ndhlovu, CRSP Alicia-Mae Nicholas, CRSP Glen Nielsen, CRSP Erik Nowak, CRSP

Olufemi Ojelade, CRSP Patricia O’Leary, CRSP Gabriel Oyenekan, CRSP Kevin Parsons, CRSP Amy Paul, CRSP Coreen Paul, CRSP Lisa Pavelak, CRSP Steven Penner, CRSP Carlos Penunuri Yepiz, CRSP Marcus A. Pereira, CRSP Halyna Pilkiw, CRSP Andrew Pope, CRSP Prashant Rajurkar, CRSP Nadine Reid, CRSP Tricia Ann Rennie, CRSP Henry K. Ridders, CRSP Peter Rizos, CRSP Hernan Rodriguez, CRSP David Rost, CRSP Michael Rumble, CRSP Jeanne Savoy, CRSP Greg Scollan, CRSP Noreen Shaikh-Sumara, CRSP Amy Shave, CRSP Charles Sherburne, CRSP Don Simmons, CRSP Xiao Man Situ, CRSP Ronald Skanes, CRSP Joseph Slavik, CRSP Robert E. Smith, CRSP William J. (Bill) Smith, CRSP Sherry Snow, CRSP Amanda Sonier, CRSP David Stead, CRSP Dan Steinke, CRSP L. Elden Stewart, CRSP Larry Stewart, CRSP Christopher Stosky, CRSP

The BCRSP is a self-regulating, self-governing organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to ISO 17024 (Personnel Certification Body) and by BSI Management Systems to ISO 9001 (Quality Management System).

Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals/Conseil canadien des professionnels en sécurité agréés 6700 Century Avenue, Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5N 6A4 905-567-7198, 1-888-279-2777, www.bcrsp.ca

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Kenneth Stubbings, CRSP Catherine Sturge, CRSP Hajrudin (Rudi) Subasic, CRSP Bei Sun, CRSP Patrick Szwedowski, CRSP Phat Ta, CRSP Justin Talbot, CRSP Krista Tardiff, CRSP Randy Tchorznickis, CRSP Victoria Telega, CRSP James Todd, CRSP Nicholas Tomiczek, CRSP Erol Toyata, CRSP Jeremiah Tringham, CRSP Bhavana Tuladhar, CRSP Kimberley Tully, CRSP Mohammad Ehsan Uddin, CRSP Patrisha Ung Ng, CRSP Adrianne Vander Zalm, CRSP Jennifer Vanderluit, CRSP Rob Vandertas, CRSP Rachelle Vernon, CRSP Jill Vrolson, CRSP Kevin Waldal, CRSP Jeanne Walsh, CRSP Adam Walters, CRSP Shuo (Sophia) Wei, CRSP Alicia Westfall, CRSP Melissa Westland, CRSP Alfred Wieme, CRSP Cory Wilson, CRSP Mavis Song Chien Yeh, CRSP Etienne Yelle, CRSP Theodore Zylstra, CRSP

Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals

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TICKETING SYSTEM LAUNCHED REGINA — Employers in Saskatchewan

who violate workplace safety regulations are now being slapped with summary offence tickets (SOTs), which charge fines ranging from $250 to $1,000 plus victim surcharges. The new safety-enforcement program went into effect on July 1.

“Summary offence tickets will encourage ongoing compliance of health and safety rules and help reduce workplace injuries,” Don Morgan, Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety in Regina, says in a statement. “This new tool deals with re-occurring or potentially dangerous contraventions that require immediate action.”

Two designated occupational health officers can now issue SOTs for 12 specified offences, including the failure to wear proper personal protective equipment, submit progress reports or other requested information, ensure that workers use fall-protection equipment in situations in which they could fall at least three metres, protect workers in excavations or trenches from cave-ins and keep holes and other openings covered.

“It is just a little more efficient means of doing what we already were doing,” says Ray Anthony, the ministry’s director of safety operations for the southern half of the province. Previously, offenders had faced prosecution from the provincial Ministry of Justice — a formal process that could take up to three years to reach the courts. With the SOT system, court dates tend to come after 30 to 40 days.

Violators receive these tickets either in person immediately or via mail, only after other tools for ensuring compliance have proved unsuccessful. An officer must evaluate the apparent offence on the ground before issuing an SOT. Ticketed parties can pay fines in person, online or by mail. Those who cannot pay their fines can work them off or challenge them in court.

pany’s Lac des Iles mine near Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Phil du Toit, North American Palladium’s president and chief executive officer, says the company and union are cooperating with government authorities and counselling has been made available to affected family members and all employees and contract workers onsite.

Bruce Skeaff, spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, says four

compliance orders unrelated to the fatality were issued. Two stop-work orders — one for the location and one for the equipment involved — and an order to ensure that ground conditions were examined for dangers and, if required, made safe, were issued.

The fourth order required the employer to comply with already established procedures to ensure the operator and workers were in a safe location when

MINER STRUCK BY ORE LAC DES ILES — A miner in northern Ontario has died after being struck by ore while working underground.

North American Palladium Ltd. employee Pascal Goulet, 38, was fatally injured on July 10 when he was struck by a piece of broken ore while outside of a loader he was operating at the comwww.ohscanada.com

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equipment was operated on or moved.

Skeaff reports that two additional orders were later issued: ensure that written procedures are established and followed related to the precautions to be taken before, during and after removal of materials; and stop work until the employer complies with the first order.

FIRM FINED OVER FATALITY SARNIA — An auto-wrecking company

in Sarnia, Ontario has been fined $60,000 following a worker fatality in 2012. Plank Road Auto Wreckers Ltd. was fined on July 21 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure that equipment was securely and solidly blocked to prevent movement, contrary to section 74 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation.

The incident occurred on September 28, 2012, when an employee was preparing to scrap a car. The worker propped the front of the vehicle on a fuel tank and began working underneath it to drain the car’s fluids, when the car slid off the fuel tank, killing the worker.

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BILL TO INCREASE PROTECTION TORONTO — Following its election victo-

ry on June 12, Ontario’s Liberal government re-introduced Bill 146 to increase protections for vulnerable workers.

If passed, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act will offer protections that include eliminating the $10,000 cap on the recovery of unpaid wages, increasing the period of wage recovery from six or 12 months to two years, prohibiting employers from charging fees and seizing personal documents, making temporary-placement agencies and their client companies jointly liable for violations of the Employment Standards Act, banning recruitment fees for all migrant workers, and addressing loopholes in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s rating system, which provides incentives to use temporary-placement agencies.

“These are important changes for Ontario workers and businesses that will help protect those in minimum-wage, temporary and precarious work, while set-

ting clear standards for employers,” says Ann Hoggarth, parliamentary assistant to Ontario labour minister Kevin Flynn.

Despite the proposed changes, the Workers Action Centre in Toronto says stronger protections for temporary and migrant workers are needed. “The Ontario government must take steps to licence recruiters and make employers jointly liable for violations, in order to crack down on exorbitant recruitment fees,” the centre notes in a statement.

WORKERS HURT IN INCIDENTS KESWICK — The York Regional Police has recently responded to two industrial accidents on the same day.

At about 12:30 p.m. on July 17, police were first called to a plaza in Keswick, when they found a 44-yearold man unconscious in a hallway. It is believed that the worker was performing interior renovations when he contacted a live wire.

The second incident occurred in the evening, when officers were called to a

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construction site in the town of East Gwillimbury. A worker was trapped underneath a crane that was being offloaded from a transport trailer when the driver lost control of the crane. The equipment struck two parked cars before rolling over and pinning the 59-year-old worker underneath it. The injured man was taken to hospital for treatment.

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour is investigating both incidents.

ACT SEEKS TO PROTECT INTERNS OTTAWA — Two NDP MPs have tabled a

private member’s bill aimed at protecting the rights of federally-regulated interns.

Quebec MP Laurin Liu (Rivière-desMille-Îles) and Ontario NDP Andrew Cash (Davenport) proposed the Intern Protection Act on June 16. The act would extend workplace standards and protec-

tions to unpaid interns and set clear rules and conditions for unpaid internships.

“Under current federal law, there is nothing that prevents unpaid interns from being exploited,” Liu says. “My bill will extend the same workplace protections to interns that employees have.”

Currently, it is unclear whether federally-regulated interns — paid, unpaid or part of an educational program — are subject to employment standards and

RECOMMENDATIONS ISSUED WINDSOR — An independent committee

examining healthcare at an agency in southwestern Ontario has issued 32 recommendations aimed at improving staff morale and addressing workload and scheduling issues.

The review panel released its report on July 10, following complaints from care coordinators at Erie St. Clair Community Care Access Centre (ESC-CCAC).

Ninety per cent of the centre’s care coordinators are registered nurses with the Ontario Nurses’ Association.

The recommendations made by the committee include the following: standardizing work processes across the ESC-CCAC’s three sites; adding some casual-care coordinators to assist in times of increased need; developing a workload-measurement tool to enable improved tracking of work and staffing needs; conducting consistent and timely performance reviews with all staff annually; and holding consistent one-on-one meetings with staff between performance appraisals to set goals, monitor progress and review scorecards regularly.

Linda Haslam-Stroud, president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association, says the panel acknowledged that workload and staffing were significant issues at the ESC-CCAC. While the agency has yet to fill seven vacant care-coordinator positions, she says the panel agrees that the remaining vacancies must be filled.

“These positions would greatly assist with the staffing needs of the ESCCCAC, given the needs currently required,” the report confirms, noting that the use of a “float-care coordinator” was extensive and that “there is a consistent use of overtime to address the backlog of work from absenteeism and inability to staff on weekends.”

Last year, there were 1,503 occurrences of absence from 249 ONA members, or about 2,041 missed days. www.ohscanada.com

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workplace protections under the Canada Labour Code. The act applies only to interns working for organizations like banks, mobile network operators, airlines and the federal government.

Information from the Canadian Intern Association says the bill, if passed, will extend employment standards and workplace protections to interns. The act will also set rules and conditions around whether educational or equivalent training is permissible for unpaid internships.

“The internship must be educational (post-secondary or equivalent), primarily benefit the intern and not replace paid employees,” the information states. “Employers must notify the intern of the terms of the internship, including duration, hours, type of activities and that they will not be paid, and keep records of the hours worked.”

MONTREAL BOOSTS CABBIE SAFETY MONTREAL — Montreal’s taxi sector has

adopted new policies that will beef up driver safety by equipping cabs with se-

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curity devices.

Montreal mayor Denis Coderre made the announcement at a meeting with drivers, business owners and other stakeholders in the industry on June 30. The changes, which took effect in August, were spurred by a report released by the municipal government’s taxi commission in May. The report made 21 recommendations focusing on the safety of drivers and customers, modernizing the industry and funding. Among the recommendations were the mandatory installation of security cameras in all cabs, equipping cameras with black boxes accessible only to police officers and installing GPS locators that would enable dispatching centres to track taxis.

Aref Salem, the city’s transportation official, says the commission is working on scenarios for funding to support the implementation of measures and reduce the financial burden on members.

The mayor’s office confirms the security measures are in response to the death of Montreal cab driver Ziad Bouzid, who was murdered by a passenger last No-

vember. Mayor Coderre says the new security measures are expected to raise the standard of the city’s taxi industry.

RAILWAY PROTESTS DECISION MONTREAL — Canadian Pacific Railway

Limited (CP) says it will be asking the Superior Court of Quebec to stay a recent arbitration decision, which ruled that a locomotive engineer who used cocaine had to be reinstated.

The July 14 decision from the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution ordered CP to reinstate the worker, without loss of seniority and without compensation for any wages or benefits lost. Arbitrator Michel Picher also ordered the employee to be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing for two years following his return to work.

The case dates back to December 27, 2012, when the locomotive engineer tested positive for cocaine while working at the company’s Saint Luc Yard in Montreal. On that day, the worker’s train ran through a main line crossover switch,

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derailing one locomotive. The worker was ordered to submit a post-incident test, which showed that the employee had used cocaine within 24 hours of his availability for duty.

The worker’s union, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, argued that the firing had been excessive and breached the collective agreement in place and the Canadian Human Rights Act, including the duty to accommodate.

Picher noted that the worker had been involved in rehabilitation through individual and group sessions between October 2013 and March 2014.

“It is trite to say cocaine dependence is a form of disability, which bears appropriate accommodations, to the point of undue hardship,” he wrote. “On the whole of the material before me, I am satisfied that it is appropriate to give the griever another chance to demonstrate his ability to be a safe and productive employee in control of his drug dependence.”

Hunter Harrison, CP’s chief executive officer, calls the arbitrator’s decision “an outrage” that “sets a dangerous precedent” for the safe operation of a railway.

“Companies in Canada need the ability to carry out random drug tests, as safety should trump the rights of any individual who makes the dangerous choice to place themselves, their co-workers and the general public at risk.”

CAUSE OF DERAILMENT REVEALED HALIFAX — A train derailment in Nova Scotia in June was caused by a track buckle, due to a sudden and unusual fluctuation of rail temperature and accumulated steel stress in a section of track.

The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway released its report to the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (DTIR) in July, outlining the cause of the incident and corrective action taken by the railway.

To reduce risks of track buckle, the DTIR reports that the railway has replaced 300 feet of track with 39-foot track panels from the point of derailment through the site of the wreck. It has also performed a stress test on the rail line and reviewed rail maintenance requirements with employees.

The railway is also taking preventive measures, including developing a new rail technical-training program and restricting train speeds to 40 kilometres per hour (km/h) between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.

for the summer. In extreme heat, train speed may be reduced to 16 km/h or train operation cancelled if warranted.

Krista Higdon, communications and media-relations advisor with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, who spoke on behalf of the DTIR, stresses that the railway was in compliance with applicable regulations.

She adds that Transport Canada will perform an inspection in the fall to ensure compliance. There will be an additional safety audit of the railway’s procedures for the maintenance of continuous welded rail, but “at this point, we have not determined exactly when that audit will be performed,” Higdon notes.

Although seven cars — three loaded with butane and four with propane — of the 43-car train derailed in West River, Nova Scotia on June 9, there were no leaks or injuries.

OFFICER DRAGGED BY VEHICLE DARTMOUTH — A Halifax Regional Police

(HRP) officer has sustained minor injuries after she was dragged by a vehicle that she had stopped for speeding.

At 12:15 a.m. on July 10, the officer stopped the pickup truck and discovered that the 22-year-old man was unlicensed and uninsured. The driver then started his vehicle, and the officer was dragged about nine metres while attempting to prevent the driver from fleeing, a statement from the HRP says. The officer sustained minor road rash, but managed to return to her vehicle and pursue the driver, locating him about 15 minutes later.

In addition to receiving tickets for be-

ing unlicensed and uninsured, the driver was charged with assaulting a police officer, assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from police.

FISHING FIRM FACES CHARGES ST. JOHN’S — Katsheshuk Fisheries Ltd.

was expected to plead guilty to several violations of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, following the death of a 27-yearold worker from St. Anthony in February 2012. The victim was exiting a shrimpholding tank on a fishing vessel when the tank’s steel door struck and killed him.

The company was called into provincial court on July 10. Katsheshuk has been charged with failing to take the following actions: provide a safe work­ place, training and supervision; ensure that powered machinery would not be activated accidentally; ensure that workers avoid entering confined spaces until qualified to enter; document safety procedures; and have an attendant present for safety precautions.

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada Many of the preceding items are based on stories from our sister publication, canadian

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a weekly newsletter that provides detailed coverage of Canadian oh&s and workers’ compensation issues. For more information, please call (416) 442-2122 or toll-free (800) 668-2374.

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DISPATCHES

Correctional facility offers restorative space for staff

By Jean Lian

I

t turns out that not only divers need to decompress.

Prison staff, who manage an incarcerated population and must constantly be vigilant of any security breach that could jeopardize their safety, also need to decompress.

As a result, nine landscape-architecture students with Iowa State University are building an outdoor decompression area for correctional officers and staff. The seed of the idea germinated last summer when Julie Stevens, assistant professor of landscape architecture with the university, and her students were building outdoor classrooms for the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women as part of its $68-million modernization and expansion project.

“During shift changes, the correctional officers stood in the parking lot next to their cars, talking to each other about their shifts,” Stevens says in a statement issued on July 8. “They would stand there for 45 minutes just to decompress and chat.”

Stevens says prison employees needed some convincing that they would benefit from a restorative outdoor environment.

“I think they felt like working in a prison will always be stressful. So we have been talking to them about how it is important for everybody to have a positive work environment that includes restorative spaces.”

Eventually, the employees gave the design students their wish list: a magnolia tree and memorial garden in honour of past employees; a space that could accommodate several dozen people for occasional staff barbecues and small group meetings; and various sitting and leaning options that offer shade, privacy and wind protection.

With these suggestions in mind, the students created a landscape design that included a three-tiered, 30-by-40-foot patio offering a variety of small-group and private-seating areas, a built-in grill, a vegetative privacy wall and leaning walls. “Officers told us that when they work the night shift, they get tired if they sit down. So they lean,” Stevens says.

If restorative spaces are an emerging trend in modern correctional facilities, Ontario is following suit. The new South West Detention Centre in Toronto, which will replace the aging jails in Windsor and Chatham, has been hailed as a milestone in the modernization of Ontario’s correctional system.

According to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, highlights of this maximum-security facil 16

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ity include the use of low-emitting volatile organic compound materials for adhesives, paints, carpet and sealants; space for secure bicycle storage; shower facilities for staff; and a polyvinyl chloride roof to reduce the heat-island effect.

Jean Lian is editor of

ohs canada.

Concerns over changes to foreign-worker program

By Jeff Cottrill

T

he pending overhaul of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has raised concerns that the changes will hurt small businesses.

On June 20, federal employment minister Jason Kenney and immigration minister Chris Alexander announced amendments to the TFWP to discourage abuses reported earlier this year, particularly in the foodservices sector. The planned reforms, which follow Kenney’s April 24 moratorium on the sector’s access to the TFWP, include the following: • Employers cannot hire temporary foreign workers (TFW) in areas with unemployment rates higher than six per cent; • By 2016, employers will be limited to a cap of 10 per cent on the low-wage TFWs they can hire; • One in four employers will be inspected annually, with an increase in inspectors by about 50 per cent; • The application fee per worker requested will increase from $275 to $1,000; and • Abuse can result in fines of up to $100,000.

In addition, the TFWP will have two sections, one of which will require employers to prove their needs for foreign workers. Both the names of employers permitted to hire TFWs and the numbers of approved positions will be made public, and the amount of time a worker may be employed in Canada will be reduced from four to two years.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) calls the TFWP reforms “a gross overreaction to a handful of negative stories.” Dan Kelly, president and chief executive officer of the CFIB, wrote an open letter to Kenney on May 15, expressing concerns about the recent TFWP moratorium in the foodservices industry and citing employers’ reactions.

Steve McLellan, chief executive officer of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce in Regina, calls the recent move “a reaction to political pressures, not reality.”

The Canadian Meat Council says that while the meat-

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processing and livestock sectors support changes to minimize abuses of the program, there is a need to ensure any such changes balance and reflect the acute labour shortage faced by the country’s agricultural sectors. The council points to an annual average workforce turnover rate of nearly 29 per cent.

Kyle Fawcett, Alberta’s Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour in Edmonton, says the solution to Alberta’s permanent labour-market issues “could rest in increasing permanent immigration to the province.” This might include increasing the numbers allocated under the provincial nominee program that allow the province to submit requests for permanent residence from the immigration stream, he says.

Jeff Cottrill is editorial assistant of

ohs canada.

Smartphone break good for employees, firm

By Jean Lian

L

eave the guilt behind the next time you reach for the cell phone to play Angry Birds or ogle at selfies on social media. A study released in July found that a smartphone break, instead of being a disruption, could be beneficial for employees and the organization.

Through a study of 72 full-time workers across industries, Sooyeol Kim, doctoral student in psychological sciences with Kansas State University, found that employees spent an average of only 22 minutes out of their eight-hour workdays playing on their smartphones. Workers who took smartphone microbreaks throughout the day were happier at the end of the daily grind.

Kim and collaborators developed an application that measured the employees’ smartphone use during work hours. The app, which the participants installed on their smartphones, also grouped the employees’ smartphone use into categories, such as entertainment or social media. Participants recorded their perceived well-being at the end of each workday.

“By interacting with friends or family members through a smartphone or by playing a short game, we found that employees Canada can recover from some of their stress to refresh their minds and take a break,” Kim says. “These days, people struggle with a lot of different types of stressors, such as work demands, time scheduling, family issues or personal life issues,” he adds. “Smartphones might help, and that is really important not only for individuals, but for an organization too.”

For some, the question of whether smartphone microbreaks offer mental relief from work or a form of digital addiction remains debatable. According to the Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report released on June 30, 47

per cent of consumers in the United States say they would not last a day without their smartphones. A whopping 79 per cent of respondents would even give up guilty pleasures like alcohol or chocolate to regain access to their mobile phones. No kidding, even chocolate. Talk about addiction.

Name-tag policy violates labour code: tribunal

By Jeff Cottrill

T

he Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal of Canada has dismissed an appeal by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) regarding the latter’s controversial name-tag policy for border-services officers (BSO).

Pierre Hamel, appeals officer with the tribunal, ruled on July 3 that the CBSA’s requirement for BSOs to wear name tags was contrary to the Canada Labour Code. This decision upheld an earlier ruling last April, which determined that the CBSA had failed to take appropriate preventive measures to deal with safety hazards associated with the policy and needed to discontinue it.

“The increased vulnerability of BSOs and their family to being intimidated, harassed or assaulted as a consequence of the greater ease of access to their personal information is the direct consequence of the requirement,” Hamel wrote in the decision. “The preventive measures in this matter ought to be geared towards first eliminating that hazard, then if not possible to do so without eliminating the function altogether, reducing the hazard to the fullest extent possible.”

The Customs and Immigration Union, which has opposed the name-tag policy since the agency implemented it on December 11, 2012, applauded Hamel’s ruling.

Upon initiating the policy, the CBSA said name tags would help modernize BSO uniforms and make people crossing into Canada feel more comfort­ able when dealing with officers. But many HELL HEL LO O BSOs did not wear their name tags, invoking HARO HAR OLD LD the right to refuse unsafe work.

London, Ontario-based Paul G. Danton, health and safety officer with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, investigated the workers’ non-compliCustoms ance and judged that, while the name tags posed no intrinsic dangers, the CBSA had not taken sufficient means to assess potential hazards that could result from the policy. Danton ordered the CBSA to terminate the name-tag policy no later than May 22, 2013. The agency appealed Danton’s decision to the tribunal instead.

The union praised members who had refused to work with name tags. “We are now examining the decision and assessing all options for next steps.” my name my name is is

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COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

SOLVENT

SYNDROME

BY WILLIAM M. GLENN

When your mind starts to play tricks, the cause may be hidden years in the past: solvents linked to permanent brain damage.

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IMAGES: THINKSTOCK

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PHOTOS:

F

or nearly 28 years, Patrick (who has requested that his last name be withheld for privacy reasons) serviced typewriters, printers, coin counters and other business machines for a succession of different employers across southern British Columbia. He would pull out parts, soak them with a solvent-based cleanser and then blast them clean with compressed air. He would drop particularly gummy bits into an open tub filled with a mixture of solvents.

For a time, he worked in a small, unventilated storage locker located in one company’s underground parking garage, spending most of the day in a haze of volatile chemicals, floating dust and engine exhaust, notes a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, released on June 12, 2008.

The rags, soaked with lacquer thinner that Patrick carried from job to job, would routinely eat through the bottom of his plastic tool box. He says his boss was “pissed” because he had to replace it every six months or so. Most of the time, he did not use a ventilator or wear gloves, so he often suffered from burning eyes and dry skin. By the late 1990s, he was also beginning to exhibit the classic neurotoxic effects of longterm exposure to the solvents and cleaners he used every day.

“I would get these ‘brain farts’ where I couldn’t focus or pay attention to detail,” Patrick says. It might be just a little mistake, like putting reel number two into slot number three, but when one is fixing gaming machines for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, that could cause “real bad problems.”

He was also easily distracted, his thoughts scattered and erratic. He would tell his wife a story and, 10 minutes later, tell it again. He was depressed, under stress and quick to anger — often over trivial incidents. “I became a hothead all of a sudden,” Patrick says. The police were called to his home several times to calm loud arguments, and there were episodes of road rage.

His doctor diagnosed him with a neuro-affective disorder due to exposure to organic solvents and cleansers, while a psychiatrist provided a working diagnosis of “personality

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change (aggressive type) due to solvent exposure.” His deteriorating condition forced him to leave work for good in 2004, shortly after the birth of his third child.

Patrick first applied for workers’ compensation in 1999, but the claim was suspended due to “a lack of medical information.” He reapplied in 2006, but was rejected, and filed an appeal in October 2007. Finally, in June 2008 — after nine years of battling the system — his claim was approved.

These days, Patrick stays home and takes care of his kids, while his wife works. “I have got a big calendar on my fridge and five sheets of paper listing everything I am supposed to do each day of the week,” he says. “When I am doing my exercises and following my routine, things work out okay. But I spent my whole life working on machines. I loved my job, and I miss it.”

LASTING EFFECTS Patrick’s case is by no means unique. Thousands of workers have suffered the short-term effects of excessive exposure to solvents — giddiness and euphoria for some, apathy and confusion for others — along with diminished powers of concentration and coordination, fatigue, irritation, depression and shifts in mood and personality. It was long believed that these effects were transitory: when the exposures ended, the symptoms went away.

But recent research has shown that many of these cognitive problems can linger for years — even decades. And like Patrick, much of the damage appears to be permanent.

According to a recent study of retired French utility workers, the past use of industrial solvents can be directly linked to lower scores on a series of standardized cognitive tests used to track dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The findings of the study, Time May Not Fully Attenuate Solvent-Associated Cognitive Deficits in Highly Exposed Workers, were published in the May 2014 issue of Neurology.

“I was surprised by the results. Individuals who had been highly exposed 20, 30 or even 40 years before our testing were still exhibiting symptoms,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. Erika Sabbath, research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The neurological effects had not faded away the way we thought they would.”

Of the 2,143 retirees who underwent cognitive testing in 2010 as part of the study, 33 per cent had been exposed to various chlorinated solvents on the job, 26 per cent to benzene and 25 per cent to petroleum solvents. Detailed exposure records collected by their employers, weighted by year and job classification, grouped the retirees into three categories: those who were never exposed to solvents; those who were moderately exposed; and those who were highly exposed from having received a lifetime dose at or above the median range.

The highly-exposed group scored consistently lower — often in the “impaired” range — in tests measuring verbal memory and fluency, immediate recall, psychomotor speed and natural response times, and the completion of

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more complex tasks requiring concentration. Although all the subjects had been retired for at least 12 years, those with the highest and most recent exposures exhibited impairments “in nearly all the tested domains, rather than only those most frequently associated with solvent exposure,” Dr. Sabbath says.

With people delaying retirement and working well into their 60s and 70s, the neurological implications can be serious.

“These are the ages when subtle cognitive deterioration [associated with aging] typically begins to occur,” Dr. Sabbath says.

Past exposure to solvents will exacerbate these cognitive deficits, “but we don’t know whether cognitive functions decline even more quickly in older workers currently exposed,” she adds, noting that more research is needed.

out the obvious myelin loss, “suggesting that some recovery is possible in mild forms,” Dr. Del Bigio says.

“As the myelin is damaged, the body must clean up the mess,” he explains. “Macrophages are the cells that act like a ‘garbage disposal,’ picking up damaged material and helping to recycle it.” Their appearance in an autopsy examination is a marker that some kind of damage has occurred.

When the myelin insulation is partially destroyed, nerve cells cannot communicate efficiently and brain signals are slowed. Some experiments in rats indicate that nerve cells might also be lost, although Dr. Del Bigio thinks that the methods of analysis in autopsy cases might not be sensitive enough to detect subtle damage.

The most severe cases often exhibit evidence of neurological or psychiatric disease, including tremors and shakiness, impaired memory, poor balance and coordination, depression and, in the worst cases, dementia and spinal-cord damage, also known as paraplegia.

While it is difficult to extrapolate the neurological effects suffered by addicts to the lower levels seen in the workplace, the brain damage appeared to be duration-dependent and could be detected within a few years of abusing solvents.

“In our study, we saw the earliest evidence of damage in a 15-year-old child who had been known to sniff glue,” Dr. Del Bigio says. Although occupational concentrations are lower, workers may also be chronically exposed to a more complex mix of solvents over a much longer period.

NEW FACE OF EXPOSURE “Neurotoxicity, chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity and the ever-present mental-health problems in the workplaces — this is the ‘modern face’ of occupational medicine,” says Dr. Douglas Hamm, an occupational medicine specialist practising in Victoria.

“Many of the ‘big smokestack’ workplace problems are largely over,” he says. “But these more complex conditions have all arisen since the formation of the workers’ compensation system. It does not know how to address them.”

Dr. Hamm, who was one of the first to recognize Patrick’s neurological symptoms, sees these cases on a regular basis.

But he says many of his colleagues shy away from solvent-related and other occupational neurological claims.

“The long, drawn-out battles before a [workers’ compensation] tribunal are so time-consuming and, too often, so frustrating,” Dr. Hamm says. “It is particularly challenging to try to untangle the neurological damage caused by solvent exposure from a lot of other background noise, like mood disorders or general cognitive decline.”

A whole spectrum of effects is associated with solvent exposure. In the paper, The Nervous System — Target Organ into the Twenty-First Century, Dr. Hamm notes that the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes three progressive levels of central-nervous-system dysfunction:

“I became a hothead all of a sudden.”

MECHANICS OF DETERIORATION The brain’s 100 billion neurons are a prime target of a number of toxic agents, including mercury, lead, arsenic, carbon monoxide, several pesticides and industrial solvents. Their profuse receptor and neurotransmitter sites, as well as the complex biochemical pathways linking them, are readily disrupted. Most neurons have limited regenerative capacity, and any losses are usually permanent.

The brain is also an “energy hog”, demanding 20 per cent of the entire body’s energy budget and 15 per cent of its cardiac output. As a result, solvents in the bloodstream reach and cross the blood-brain barrier and, once there, tend to bioaccumulate in the lipid-heavy neurons.

While behavioural symptoms may appear long before any physiological damage becomes apparent, the brains of solvent abusers may provide an intriguing glimpse into the damage these chemicals cause.

A large autopsy study co-authored by Dr. Marc Del Bigio, Canada research chair in developmental neuropathology at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, showed that inhaling high levels of the powerful solvent toluene over several years could severely damage the white matter of the brain — the same part that is attacked in multiple sclerosis, except the damage in the latter case is caused by inflammation rather than a toxic exposure. These masses of tiny axon fibres provide electrical connections between the nerve cells of the brain and are covered by myelin, a whitish insulating material.

According to the study, Brain Damage in a Large Cohort of Solvent Abusers, published in Acta Neuropatholica in April 2010, of the 75 brain samples stained and examined, 16 showed “well-established” atrophy of the brain’s white matter — a condition known as leukoencephalopathy — with patchy losses of the myelin sheathing and the appearance of abundant macrophages.

Another six autopsied samples showed early signs of brain damage, including the rare macrophages, but with-

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• O rganic Affective Syndrome: the short-term effects on mood, motivation, memory and concentration are reversible and do not show up on neuropsychological tests; • Mild Chronic Toxic Encephalopathy: memory and psychomotor problems are more persistent, while mood, personality and behavioral abnormalities are common; and • Severe Chronic Toxic Encephalopathy: intellectual impairments and personality changes begin to interfere with social and occupational functioning, while the more severe symptoms are usually irreversible.

“While it can be hard to define the milder neurological effects, like minor variations in mood, the diagnosis becomes easier in the more flagrant cases,” Dr. Hamm explains.

PATH OF RESISTANCE Even if one gets a diagnosis of some kind of solvent-related, neuro-affective disorder or chronic toxic encephalopathy, there are “many more roadblocks” to obtaining compensation for a neurologically damaged worker, says Maryth Yachnin, staff lawyer with the Industrial Accident Victims

Group of Ontario in Toronto.

“If you are seeking compensation for a bad back, you don’t need reams of epidemiological evidence and recent scientific studies,” Yachnin says. “It is still possible to be successful, but these are some of the hardest cases to win, because the standard of evidence is so high.”

In addition, there can be a long delay before the symptoms become debilitating, and evidence of past exposure is very hard to reconstruct. In most cases, workplace levels were not quantified or assessed at the time the exposures began.

“You are lucky if every couple of years, somebody took one or two readings, and that was probably in some other area of the plant,” Yachnin says.

Finally, it can be a challenge to present evidence of neurological effects if one is relying on the testimony of a worker who suffers from memory loss, confusion and other cognitive deficits.

“They can have good days and bad days,” she suggests.

“One day, they are describing incidents and recalling details, but the next, there can be a lot of problems. They may not

Is Enough Enough?

While most Canadian jurisdictions have adopted some form of threshold limit values (TLVs) for workplace exposures recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), consistency in the limits on various substances is still lacking across the country. Do current occupational exposure limits provide adequate protection, especially over a lifetime of working with solvents?

“The standards for benzene, for example, are 20 times higher in the territories and twice as high in Quebec than in the rest of the country,” says Cheryl Peters, occupational exposures advisor with CAREX Canada in Burnaby, British Columbia. “Benzene is a really big concern. It is in our ‘top 10’ list of carcinogens, and the number of exposed workers in Canada is estimated at 375,000.”

Trichloroethylene, another widely-used solvent, “was just upgraded to a ‘known human carcinogen’ after languishing as a 2A probable for many years,” she adds. Similar to benzene, its exposure limits range from 10 parts per million (ppm) in much of Canada to 50 ppm in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick, to 100 ppm in the three territories.

“Perhaps there needs to be a national review committee looking at minimum standards that could apply evenly across Canada,” Peters suggests. Only British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec independently review the ACGIH recommendations and, as a result, may adopt stricter versions or regulate compounds not yet addressed by the organization. Other jurisdictions may adopt the TLVs by legislative reference, but not always the most recent edition.

“The workplace limits are good in theory, but can be completely disregarded in practice,” occupational medicine specialist Dr. Douglas Hamm says from Victoria. “It is good to have limits when you have a responsible employer, but that does not cover everyone.” While employers and workers seem to be much more careful with solvents these days, Dr. Hamm says he still sees companies being fined regularly for misusing or poorly storing these chemicals.

The table below lists the occupations that involve working with solvents and the associated levels of exposure:

Occupation

Intensity of exposure

Dry cleaner, screen printer, rotogravure printer, industrial painter, manufacturer of glass-reinforced plastic and tile fixer

High exposure

House painter, mechanic, assembly processor using solvents, paint maker, workers using industrial degreaser

Moderate exposure

Petrol-pump attendant, joiner/carpenter, chemical-process operator, laboratory technician, cleaner using polishes

Low exposure

Source: Solvent Neurotoxicity, published in March 2006 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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be consistent in reporting their symptoms or their work history, which can undermine credibility.”

As is often the case in workers’ compensation cases, there can be a wide and confusing disparity in individual sensitivities to a particular chemical agent, complicated by such confounding factors as sex, age, marital status, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption and an individual’s “cognitive reserves”.

According to epidemiological data from the study of a large cohort of French utility workers — this time focusing on whether the association between occupational solvent exposure and cognition vary by education level — it appears that those who had graduated from high school tended to perform significantly better on a battery of cognitive tests than those who had not, even though their exposure histories were otherwise very similar.

Within the less-educated group, there was a strong doseresponse relationship between lifetime exposure to each of the workplace solvents and “poor cognition”. However, no such relationship could be detected among those with secondary education.

The authors suggest that the denser neural networks associated with education — the so-called cognitive reserves — “masked or delayed expression of changes in the brain” that followed occupational solvent exposures.

“Early education is an extremely effective way — a broad shield, so to speak — for protecting your cognitive abilities against both known and unknown toxic exposures and other factors,” Dr. Sabbath says.

An individual’s cognitive reserves depend, in part, on genetics and, in part, on the regular “workouts” the brain gets.

Resiliency to neurotoxic assault might depend on “how much reading you do, how much education you have, how much travelling you do or how interesting a job you have,” explains Dr. Christopher Friesen, clinical neuropsychologist and director of the Niagara Neuropsychology Service in Grimsby, Ontario. All these activities build up the connections in the brain. The stronger the brain is wired, the more resilient it will be to the debilitating and combined effects of old age and solvent exposure.

For example, someone may have scored in the 50th percentile — almost right in the middle — on one of the standard cognitive tests his or her entire life, but once that person has been overexposed to some neurotoxic solvent, the score drops down to the 16th percentile. That is still in the lower end of the average range, but processing speed, memory and attention continue to decrease slowly, decade by decade, as one ages.

“Later in life, you will be at a disadvantage, and it is not going to take long before the effects of aging are going to be noticeable and you are going to be functionally impaired,” Dr. Friesen says.

SCIENCE OF BRAIN PLASTICITY Although one cannot travel back in time to repeat high school, there are steps that can be taken following brain damage — regardless of whether it is caused by solvent exposure, injury or disease — to ameliorate the symptoms, slow cognitive deterioration and maintain independence.

“The hottest topic in neuroscience today is brain plasticity. It is not about growing new neurons, but making better connections,” Dr. Friesen says.

To date, exercise has been shown to be the strongest, most effective method of preventing further cognitive decline. But the kind of exercise is important. Rather than spending time on a treadmill staring at a blank wall, Dr. Friesen recommends learning a new dance.

“Dancing is not only good aerobic exercise; it engages your memory as you learn the steps, your emotions, your timing, your auditory senses,” he says. “There are social connections as you coordinate with your partner and even pleasurable sensations as you interact with the music.”

Changes can also be made to diet and lifestyle. Smoking, overall weight, diabetes and high cholesterol are all vascular factors that affect the amount of blood reaching the brain.

“What is good for the heart is good for the brain,” Dr. Friesen adds.

Finally, there is brain training. “There are no guarantees that cognitive training will work for everyone,” he notes. “The research is mixed, but there is some evidence that these exercises can slow down the cognitive declines related to aging.”

A number of computer-based brain-training programs on the market offer puzzles, quizzes and other mental challenges. Working with a doctor or neuropsychologist, an individual would select the specific ones that match the particular cognitive deficits with which one is struggling.

“You have to be willing to do the work, three or four times a week, for, say, six weeks,” Dr. Friesen advises. “After that, if you are seeing some benefit, then continue.”

While one can delay the progression of the damage and learn coping mechanisms to compensate for mood swings or memory loss, “the scary thing is there isn’t a whole lot you can do to reverse the cognitive deterioration once it begins to show,” Dr. Sabbath says. “That is why prevention is really important.” Improved personal protective equipment, substituting dangerous solvents with less toxic alternatives and implementing engineering or administrative controls to isolate solvent-based processes are all “very doable,” she adds.

“Prevention is really straightforward,” Dr. Sabbath says. “Simply pulling on a respirator can help protect your mental capacity.”

“Simply pulling on a respirator can help protect your mental capacity.”

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

William M. Glenn is a writer in Toronto. www.ohscanada.com

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ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL ZWOLAK

LIVE-IN CAREGIVERS

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Domestic

Troubles

BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has come under the spotlight in recent years, after allegations of employers misusing the program have surfaced.

Caught in the fray of this heightened scrutiny on temporary foreign workers are Canada’s live-in caregivers.

In June, employment minister Jason Kenney said the country’s longest-standing foreign-worker program — the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) — could be next on the chopping block.

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P

riya (who has requested that her last name be withheld) left India last August to complete a personal-support-worker program at Centennial College in Toronto, hoping to find work in Canada.

Upon finishing her studies, Priya landed her first temporary job as a live-in caregiver through a recruiter.

Over the phone, she discussed the terms of her job with her employer before starting work.

Upon Priya’s arrival at her new place of work, an apartment infested with cockroaches greeted her. She also found out that she was expected to take care of an elderly woman, who would soon be returning from the hospital. In addition, she learned that she would be sharing a room with the elderly lady, who would sleep on the bed — and Priya on the floor. “At first, they tell me that I have a room of my own. They said I have all the necessary facilities, and they said I only have to take care of one person, only the father,” she says.

Priya’s experience is a familiar tale in the caregiving sector, says Ai Li Lim, staff lawyer and executive director at West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association (WCDWA) in Vancouver. The non-profit organization handles more than 3,000 legal cases each year, mostly with live-in caregivers. “It is common to hear from live-in caregivers that the work they sign up for is not what they actually experience.”

Lim says some caregivers she has spoken with were told that they would be tasked with caregiving work, but ended up spending most of their time on the employer’s farm doing farm work with no occupational

Priya’s experience is a familiar tale in the caregiving sector. health and safety training. As many of these live-in caregivers have to finish the requirements of the program and are afraid to be out of work, they “endure until they can’t endure anymore,” she adds.

In 2012, nannies, babysitters and parents’ helpers were the third-largest group of workers hired under the TFWP, according to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Unlike other federal programs, the LCP eventually leads to Canadian citizenship. But the way the system works has raised concerns about the treatment of those brought to the country to care for children, the elderly and the disabled.

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Like the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Program and the low-skilled stream of the TFWP, “the LCP is part of the TFWP,” asserts Ethel Tungohan, Ph.D., post-doctoral researcher with the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She suggests that recent changes to the TFWP may lead to a snowball effect on workers in the Live-in Caregiver Program and other foreign workers.

“When it comes to the moratorium that is being imposed on fast-food workers in the TFWP, a lot of political parties are clamouring to extend that moratorium.

They are saying it should not be just fast-food workers; it should also be workers in other industries.”

Manuela Gruber, co-director of the Association of Caregivers and Nanny Agencies Canada (ACNA) in Vancouver, advises foreign nannies to ensure that they are dealing with reputable agencies. “It is best if they do their homework,” she says, recommending wordof-mouth and referrals. “And if the agency sounds too good to be true, then stay away.”

COMMONPLACE ABUSES Media reports of caregiver abuse abound. In May, two Philippine diplomats were accused of human trafficking after they allegedly withheld the personal-identification documents of their 26-year-old Filipino nanny and forced her to work 14-hour days.

While Lim acknowledges that most live-in caregivers come to Canada through legal avenues, “illegal recruitments are very common in the live-in-caregiver world.” She cites section 118 of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which states that bringing someone across the border under fraudulent pretences can be considered human trafficking. The crime of trafficking people is covered by two acts: the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. “In order to make up the elements of the offence, you have to meet certain thresholds. And those thresholds are sometimes quite difficult to prove.”

Beyond the high-profile cases that make headlines are more commonplace abuses, such as the non-payment of wages, the inability to provide a live-in caregiver with private space and the expectation that certain tasks be performed without compensation, Dr. Tungohan observes.

She is collaborating on a research project called the Gabriela Transitions Experiences Survey, which has so far interviewed 631 live-in caregivers across Canada. She reports that the majority of respondents indicate that employers often disregard regulations when it comes to issues like overtime pay and the provision of a separate bedroom. Hunger is also common, as employers may restrict live-in caregivers’ ability to cook their own food or feed them meagre servings like bread and salad.

In some cases, women are asked to climb ladders, dust chandeliers or clean swimming pools. When care-

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givers are asked to take on tasks that go beyond the parameters of their contracts or should be performed by professionals, “that also affects the health and safety of live-in caregivers,” Dr. Tungohan points out. “Certain provinces do not recognize domestic work as being part of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), so that is really problematic.”

Priya could refuse that particular job and look for work elsewhere, because unlike workers who come to Canada through the LCP, she was not relying on the employer to sponsor her work permit. But Dr. Tungohan points out that the way the LCP is structured heightens the vulnerability of foreign caregivers, making it difficult for them to assert their rights. “It is the live-in requirement — the employer-specific requirement — that makes the issues rampant.”

Lim agrees that the need to complete certain work requirements within a limited time period in order to stay in the country can contribute to caregivers’ insecurity and fear of confronting abusive employers. “You can only work for the employer listed on the work permit. In order to leave, you have to go through many steps in order to apply for a new work permit.”

And that process usually takes about four months, during which the caregiver may be homeless in addition to unemployed, she adds.

Since employers are responsible for employees’ living arrangements, live-in caregivers may also be expected to put up with unsuitable accommodations, as in Priya’s case. “I had one live-in caregiver [who] had to stay in the garage with no heat in the winter,” Lim reports, adding that the employer prohibited the worker from using the bathroom at night, so as not to disturb the other occupants of the house.

And there are times when live-in caregivers are exploited by those claiming to help. A report published

by WCDWA in June highlights one case, in which the sister of a live-in caregiver obtained a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) for her to work in Canada, but did not pay her for her work. “The live-in caregiver had to work very long hours to provide around-the-clock care to two children, and when she tried to leave the employment, her sister used emotional appeals to family ties to persuade her to stay,” the report notes.

Gruber affirms that labour documents are sometimes falsified. It could be a family who sponsors a family member as a live-in caregiver, but has no intention of hiring him or her. She adds that there are also “underground groups” that pay kickbacks to Canadian employers to sponsor people just to get them into the country without any real plans of employment.

RULES OF THE GAME Although the numbers of those abroad applying to the LCP have been declining, ESDC approved 16,485 LMOs for foreign nannies, babysitters and parents’ helpers to

The regulation of employment in private households in Canada varies from province to province. In Quebec, once live-in caregivers receive immigration status, they are no longer covered by workplace safety insurance through the Commission de la santé et de la securité du travail (CSST), because Quebec’s labour code excludes temporary domestic workers or citizens who are domestic employees, says Evelyn Calugay of PINAY, a Filipino women’s organization in Montreal.

Since 2006, PINAY has been pressuring the government to provide workers’ compensation coverage to all domestic workers, but with each successive government, “it gets dumped in the garbage,” Calugay says. She adds that the labour code suggests that individual workers contribute directly to the CSST, but in reality, many workers cannot afford to do so with their low wages.

In most provinces, domestic workers are covered by workers’ compensation. Under Ontario law, anyone who employs a fulltime domestic worker is required to register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). “The WSIB has an information-exchange agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency and, again, uses this as a resource to confirm that those employing domestics have fulfilled their responsibility to register with the WSIB,” says WSIB spokesperson Christine Arnott from Toronto.

However, Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) does not apply to work performed in a private home by a “servant of the owner or occupant,” unless the worker is employed by a placement agency, notes William Lin, spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Labour in Toronto. “Application of the OHSA to domestic workers hinges on who the employer is, not on citizenship or residency.”

Additionally, an inspector can enter a private dwelling being used as a workplace only with the consent of the occupier or under a warrant issued by the OHSA or Provincial Offences Act.

work in Canada in 2012, compared to 34,335 in 2008 and 19,115 in 2005.

The LCP is an employer-driven system developed to meet Canada’s caregiving needs by allowing foreign workers to apply for work permits through recruitment agencies or directly with employers. Under current requirements, a caregiver must have an employment offer before applying for a work permit. The employer, who acts as the caregiver’s sponsor, must receive a positive LMO from ESDC. Then, the employer and employee sign a standardized employment contract laying out the terms of employment, such as salary, hours of work, vacation time, overtime, holidays, sick leave and terms of termination and resignation. After completing 3,900 hours or two years of work within four years, the caregiver is then eligible to apply for permanent residency in Canada.

Prior to the introduction of the LCP in 1992, livein caregivers came to Canada through the Foreign Do-

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mestic Movement Program. Evelyn Calugay, member of PINAY, a grassroots advocacy organization formed

by Filipino caregivers in Montreal, claims that as a result of their efforts, live-in caregivers can now apply for residency sooner under the LCP. Once the employer and live-in caregiver have established a good relationship, the employer can submit a request to Immigration Canada to hire the caregiver, who can then apply for permanent residence, Calugay explains.

Rémi Larivière, spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in Ottawa, notes that on top of extending the amount of time that caregivers have to complete their work requirements from three to four years, the federal government now issues emergency work permits and allows the processing of LMOs to be expedited in cases involving abused caregivers.

But Lim says this does not happen often, because caregivers are afraid to file complaints. “In the case of caregivers working in private homes away from the

A report, published by the West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association in June, paints a bleak picture of what it is like to be employed as a domestic worker.

The report, entitled Labour Trafficking & Migrant Workers in British Columbia, cites “employer control over living arrangements, future immigration applications and recruiter control over job prospects as areas of vulnerability that can be manipulated by bad employers and recruiters to coerce or force workers to work in exploitative conditions.”

This exploitation can take the form of overworking the caregiver, withholding wages, paying below the minimum wage, not providing adequate living conditions, denying healthcare coverage or workers’ compensation and exposing caregivers to unsafe work conditions. The report makes 16 recommendations, which include the following: • Adopt a proactive approach to investigations. Health and safety officers and employment-standards officers should be trained to identify signs of forced labour and trafficking. This information should be shared with law-enforcement agencies, guided by survivor-centred, information-sharing protocols; • Improve housing inspections to ensure that the accommodations provided by employers meet existing standards and that workers are not overcharged for rent. Increase regulation of recruitment agencies and consultants that charge workers fees to find jobs in Canada; • Increase spot checks in homes where live-in caregivers are employed. This will allow for the checking of accommodation standards, reviewing pay-stubs against contracts, auditing payment and conducting private interviews with caregivers to ensure fair treatment; and • Abolish the Live-in Caregiver Program’s requirement that the employee live with the employer.

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public eye, it is almost impossible for them to provide concrete evidence of abuse,” she contends.

The LCP clearly prohibits abuse of live-in caregivers.

Apart from adhering to the terms in an employment contract, an employer must agree to follow provincial labour standards and commit to accommodation requirements, such as providing a lockable room with a bed that is properly ventilated and heated, Lim says.

In British Columbia, the minimum employment standards require that anything exceeding eight hours of work a day and 40 hours of work a week should be considered overtime, while workers must be allowed at least 32 hours off each week. Although employmentstandards acts vary from province to province, the general requirements are fairly consistent.

“The Government of Canada takes the issue of the exploitation and mistreatment of TFWs very seriously.

It is unacceptable for Canadian employers to exploit or mistreat workers, regardless of their nationality or occupation,” Larivière says.

Nonetheless, caregiver-advocacy groups like WCDWA continue to report instances of excessive work hours, poor housing conditions and unpaid wages.

Lim cites repetitive movements like bending over when cleaning and carrying babies for long periods of time as among the common job-related hazards for live-in caregivers. Injuries include carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and back pain. “We have heard many stories of caregivers being bitten by family dogs or falling because they have to bring a dog to the park,” she adds.

A survey of domestic workers in Montreal, conducted by PINAY and the McGill University School of Social Work in 2008, found that 35 per cent of 148 live-in caregivers interviewed reported back pain from lifting, 24 per cent had suffered cuts, 23 per cent had experienced soreness and burns and 11 per cent had been injured while playing with children. Also reported were chemical reactions (18 per cent), allergic reactions (16 per cent) and contagious illnesses (nine per cent) on the job.

SPOTTY COVERAGE One change the government has made to the program, which the CIC views as an improvement, is defining the costs an employer is obliged to pay, including the caregiver’s travel expenses to Canada, medical insurance, workplace safety insurance and third-party representative fees. All employers must cover temporary medical insurance until the provincial health insurance kicks in and, in many cases, register caregivers with the workers’ compensation board.

But Calugay reports that employers often do not comply with these rules. “In Quebec, it is in the contract that the employer has to register the employee to the Commission de la santé et de la securité du travail (CSST). But the majority of the employers do not regis-

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ter them,” she notes. When caregivers call the CSST to enquire if they have been registered, Calugay says they are greeted by an automated message in French, which many Filipinos do not understand.

In contrast, the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s tollfree line to the Health and Safety Contact Centre offers service in more than 150 languages, notes ministry spokesperson William Lin in Toronto. “The ministry has developed an enhanced education and outreach strategy to help ensure compliance and raise awareness in this sector,” including fact sheets and informational videos in multiple languages.

According to Gruber, the ACNA always recommends that its clients provide workers’ compensation coverage to their live-in caregivers. “It is very important for the live-in caregivers to be safe and covered in the home.”

While Gruber acknowledges that there are black sheep among overseas agencies, the same can be said of those that operate in Canada — many of which fail to do their due diligence to ensure the legitimacy of their clients. “There are some agencies in Canada that, you know, basically place them with bad employers or fake employers or whatever, and they think that they are coming to a legitimate employer,” she charges. “We are thrown in the same pot as all the bad recruitment agencies.”

As such, the ACNA is lobbying the federal government to adopt a system similar to the one in the United States, where only regulated agencies — not individuals — are allowed to place live-in caregivers. The association is also in the process of submitting to Ottawa a proposal that will represent the interests of employers and agencies involved in hiring foreign nannies.

ONE STEP FORWARD? Figuring out which federal or provincial agency is responsible for regulating each aspect of the LCP can be a daunting task for someone new to the country, since the provincial government oversees the safety and labour standards of these workers, while the federal government is in charge of immigration.

In Ontario, employees who believe that their employers have failed to comply with the Employment Standards Act or the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act can file a claim with the provincial labour ministry, while in British Columbia, complaints would be directed to the Employment Standards Branch of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training.

Lim points out that the Employment Standards Branch in British Columbia will frequently review wage complaints, but when it comes to issues like a live-in caregiver not being provided with a bed, the Branch will say it falls outside of its jurisdiction. “They have the jurisdiction to enforce employment contracts,” Lim contends, calling it “jurisdictional football.”

In such cases, Lim says Employment Standards usually refers her to CIC, which hands the complaint over

to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to investigate. But foreign nationals, out of fear, rarely choose to file complaints through an agency that has the power to deport them. “If someone calls the CBSA and says, ‘Look, this live-in caregiver is living in a garage,’” Lim illustrates, “the first thing they will say is, ‘Where is the breach of the Act? Is this our jurisdiction?”

For temporary foreign workers who feel that they have been exploited or abused, Larivière says they should contact the appropriate authority in the province or territory where they work.

“Certain provinces do not recognize domestic work as being part of the OHSA.”

“For concerns with potential criminal consequences, workers may consider contacting local police authorities, who will conduct further investigation, if merited.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the allegations, the CBSA or the RCMP may be called to investigate the situation. Violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act are investigated by CBSA.” A confidential tip line has also been set up, he adds.

Another change Larivière points to is that employers found to be non-compliant with the terms of job contracts will be barred from hiring temporary foreign workers, including live-in caregivers, for two years.

Since 2011, a public blacklist has been created to record the names of non-compliant employers. The first name was added in April — three years after the list was created. Since the creation of the list, only three employers have been cited for having their LMOs suspended and an additional employer’s LMO has been revoked.

But Dr. Tungohan is not impressed. “I think the conditions of the program are such that even these legal improvements are incremental. So if you actually want to shift the conditions of the workplace and make sure workers’ rights are protected, you have to look at the employer-specific work permit; you have to look at the live-in requirement.”

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of

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AGING WORKFORCE

y ears

BY DANNY KUCHARSKY

Let’s face it: Canada’s workforce is greying — fast. Statistics Canada forecasts that by 2021, almost a quarter of the country’s labour force will be 55 years of age or older. That proportion was 17 per cent in 2010.

As the tide of time marches on, how can employers anticipate and respond to the health and safety issues presented by an aging workforce?

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IMAGE: THINKSTOCK

or many, “Freedom 55” — the London Life Insurance advertisement campaign that debuted in 1989, touting the virtues of early retirement for the financially fit — now seems out of reach.

“That whole Freedom 55 that many of us grew up with, you don’t hear that anymore,” says Monique Gignac, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Institute for Work and Health (IWH) in Toronto.

The numbers tell a similar story: Canadians are working longer than ever. According to Statistics Canada, older workers have been increasingly delaying their retirement since the mid-1990s. In 2008, a 50-year-old employee could be expected to work an additional 16 years, compared to 12.5 years for a worker of the same age in the mid-1990s.

As a result of longer lifespans and people having fewer children, the median age of Canadians has jumped from 26.2 years in 1971 to 39.7 years in 2010. And that number is expected to increase to more than 45 years by 2050. Today, the youngest of the baby boomers have reached 50 — that means many workers are already in the twilight years of their careers.

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While many people are working longer out of financial necessity, others are doing so because of the social and personal benefits associated with employment, Dr. Gignac suggests.

And many who are working beyond the retirement age of 65 do so on a part-time basis.

Undoubtedly, older employees bring a wealth of experience with them and tend to make better decisions than their younger counterparts do, says Jan Chappel, senior technical specialist with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Hamilton, Ontario.

Harry Shannon, Ph.D., professor in McMaster University’s Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Hamilton, agrees.

“Employers may be doing themselves a disfavour if they ignore the institutional memory some of these workers can have.”

But a greying workforce may create workplace safety repercussions. A report, Examining Determinants and Consequences of Work-related Injuries among Older Workers, published last August, says older workers with chronic conditions like osteoarthritis and diabetes have a higher risk of work-related injury, compared to their peers without these conditions. Women suffering from diabetes also have an increased risk of repetitive-movement injuries, while osteoarthritis is associated with an increased risk of falls.

HALF FULL, HALF EMPTY That being said, the nexus between age and occupational risk remains tenuous at best. Peter Smith, Ph.D., scientist with the IWH and principal investigator for the aforementioned report commissioned by WorkSafeBC and the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, found no overall differences in the relationship between age and risk of work-related injury in British Columbia from 1997 to 2005.

“Concerns that older workers may increase the risk of injuries for firms are not supported by the available research evidence,” says Dr. Smith, currently an associate professor with the Monash Centre of Occupational and Environmental Health at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

In fact, Dr. Gignac says the literature is clear that younger workers are more likely to be injured than older ones are.

But when older workers do get hurt on the job, they tend to require more healthcare and time off work than their injured younger counterparts do, Dr. Smith notes. Older employees also have a higher risk for injuries like fractures and other latency disorders, like hearing loss, particularly among men.

“Workplaces and compensation agencies in Canada are dealing with an increasing number of workers’ compensation claims from older workers, due to the increasing age of the labour force,” Dr. Smith notes. As a result, there is a heightened interest in understanding why older workers need more time away from work following injuries and why certain chronic conditions can lead to a greater risk of injury.

Dr. Gignac thinks that more research is needed to understand the effects of chronic disease on older workers better, considering that two-thirds of people with arthritis are under 32

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65. The condition is often diagnosed mid-career, between the ages of 40 and 50. Arthritis is the second-most common form of work disability among the working-age population in Canada after low back pain, she says.

Osteoarthritis can cause ongoing pain, fatigue, stiffness and other physical symptoms, which can have a “fairly significant impact on work,” Dr. Gignac notes. It is also unpredictable — those who suffer from this condition vacillate between feeling fine and struggling through periods of severe symptoms. And if the condition hampers one’s ability to work, the employee will have to consider discussing the situation with their supervisors and colleagues.

According to Dr. Gignac, one-third to half of those with arthritis do not disclose their conditions to employers. “We found people were doing a lot of negotiation with their coworkers to try to manage chronic disease in the workplace,” she says. As these negotiations are often conducted among co-workers or supervisors, “many employers were completely unaware that arthritis and other chronic diseases was a problem in the workplace.”

Emerging research indicates that workers whose jobs require them to kneel and squat may be more prone to developing arthritis in the knees and hips. Occupations involving a fair amount of repetitive work may also be linked to osteoarthritis later in these workers’ lives.

As such, employers should address ergonomic issues to ensure that work environments are safe for all staff, regardless of their age, advises Ian Howcroft, vice-president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters in Mississauga, Ontario.

At his office, an ergonomics expert was brought in to look at workstations to ensure that computers were at a proper height and not causing strain. “Safety is always important,” Howcroft says, noting that age may take a toll on job performance. “What someone can do when they are 25, they may not be able to do when they are 55.”

If feasible, flexible schedules can help employees with arthritis cope better with their conditions. Dr. Gignac reports that about two-thirds of workers say their employers offer some kind of flexible hours — either as a formal policy or through arrangements worked out with their supervisors.

Companies that offer flexible time arrangements report substantial differences in absenteeism and job disruption.

Other measures include allowing workers to come to work later when arthritic pain causes them to take longer to get going and providing breaks when fatigue becomes an issue.

For those who stand a lot on the job, having a stool to place a leg can provide relief. “We are not talking about having to redo the entire workplace,” Dr. Gignac says. “Often, people find good shoes, a stool, a chair — a lot of those things — are helpful.”

SAME HUE, DIFFERENT SHADES Howcroft says Canada has fallen behind most G7 countries when it comes to investing in new equipment or training to improve productivity and promote health and safety.

“The best way to avoid the costs of an injury is to avoid the injury in the first instance. Your productivity will improve if you have a workforce that is healthy and that is doing the job safely,” he says.

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Canadians are working longer than ever.

Dr. Smith adds that reducing hazards, having supportive workplace health and safety policies and procedures, making workers aware of their oh&s rights and responsibilities and empowering them to speak up about concerns will benefit all workers — young and old alike.

Physical decline is part of the process of aging. For example, an individual loses about 20 per cent of his or her muscles between the ages of 20 and 60. “While some attributes like aerobic capacity, general strength, muscle flexibility and bone-mineral density decrease with age, other attributes like work experience, job knowledge, competence and cognitive aspects, such as motivation and verbal command, increase with age. So how this impacts productivity is probably quite person-job specific,” Dr. Smith explains.

Chappel is likely to agree. She notes that reduction in muscular strength, range of motion and cardio fitness are variable and depend on how fit an individual is.

Physical decline aside, Dr. Shannon cautions against ageism in the workplace. Although he notes that Canadians are by and large tolerant of older employees, the situation could change if younger workers begin to think that their career progression is blocked by older colleagues. “I don’t think we have seen that in Canada, but those are some of the things that people think about when it comes to older workers.”

Dr. Gignac notes that research has shown the importance of maintaining physical activity among older workers. “We have a tendency, when feeling some pain or stiffness, to do nothing. And that seems to be the wrong thing to do.”

She adds that people who have health problems are often unsure what exercises are appropriate for their respective conditions or the changes they should make to their routines.

“People become concerned physical activity may aggravate their condition.”

Dr. Gignac suggests that most low- or moderate-impact activities would benefit workers of all ages. Going for a walk at lunch, doing stretching exercises during the work day and parking the car further away to get a bit of walking before and after work all help. She cites an employer who installed fewer printers to encourage more physical movement among staff.

Dr. Shannon, who is also chair of the Methodology Working Group for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), says knowledge about older workers should improve considerably once results from the national study become available. The CLSA, which is underway, will follow about 50,000 Canadians aged between 45 and 85 for at least 20 years.

About 40 per cent of the people being studied are workers.

Among the issues the study will look at include how older workers with chronic disease manage to continue working, if disabilities or chronic disease lead to earlier exits from the labour force and whether people facing such issues can make a transition to less strenuous employment. The CLSA will also link participants’ health records with the jobs they do to yield insights on the relationship between the two. Meaningful results from the study are expected to be available in about six years, Dr. Shannon adds.

throughout Canada, says Howard Levitt, employment lawyer with Levitt & Grosman in Toronto. While 65 is traditionally considered the retirement age, workers cannot be forced to retire when they hit that age.

And that change, which came about in 2005 in Ontario, has since brought “the law of unintended consequences”, Levitt says. “What is happening now is that nobody wants to hire an older worker, because you can’t get rid of them anymore.”

Levitt claims that employers are more likely to fire “doubtful employees” in their late 50s, whereas in the past, they would wait to see if their performances improved, with the knowledge that they could not work past age 65.

For companies that attempt to retire employees when they turn 65, they risk facing an unlawful-dismissal suit and human rights damage. “Age is one of the factors that courts look at in wrongful-dismissal damages,” says Levitt, citing a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, which reinforced the right of law firms and other partnerships to force senior partners to retire at age 65.

The case centred around a human-rights complaint filed in 2009 by John Michael McCormick, partner with law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Vancouver. McCormick was compelled to retire upon turning 65, as required by the law firm’s partnership agreement. The Supreme Court overturned the decision by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, concluding that the tribunal had no jurisdiction over the case, because “in no material way was Mr. McCormick structurally or substantively ever in a subordinate relationship with the other equity partners,” according to the decision dated May 22.

But Levitt notes that the decision applies only to British Columbia. As a result of differences in the Human Rights Code in that province, “the case is of no importance for the case of mandatory retirement” elsewhere in Canada.

As well, older workers who hold jobs that are safety-sensitive could increasingly face physical assessments that judge their abilities to perform required tasks. Levitt cautions that the courts and human rights tribunals will test the standards of physical assessments to see if they are legitimate and not more stringent than is necessary.

“Unless there is a direct, significant linkage between the job and the standards, and unless you really need to be able to pass those standards to get the job, the courts are going to throw out the standards,” he suggests.

Chappel believes that the answer may lie in doing physical assessments for everyone. “You assess the job — not the worker — which is a pretty standard practice for job safety now.”

Dr. Gignac thinks that the aging babyboomer generation will serve as an impetus for employers to become more aware of workplace design to retain skilled older workers. “I see this as a potential for positive change.”

THE BIG LEAP Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada One of the most significant developments involving older workers is the abolition of mandatory retirement in provinces Danny Kucharsky is a writer in Montreal. www.ohscanada.com

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ACCIDENT PREVENTION

2

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

4

Laws of Attraction THEN AND NOW: You might not see them, but they are all around us.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs), also known as electric and magnetic fields, are invisible fields that surround all electrical equipment and appliances.

They are present in our natural environment when electric charges build up in the atmosphere as a thunderstorm approaches. Throughout history, the earth’s magnetic field has helped us navigate our surroundings by orienting the compass needle in a north-south direction.

In modern times, EMFs help us see broken bones in X-rays, and the electricity we use to power our computers has low frequency EMFs. As well, various kinds of higher-frequency radiowaves transmit information through television antennas, radio stations and mobile phones, notes information from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.

FIELDS OF HARM: But these invisible fields of energy can also cause harm. A study on occupational exposure to magnetic resonance imaging scanners, published in the June issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that healthcare workers who operate MRI equipment in 16 to 39 per cent of work shifts reported short-lived symptoms, such as vertigo and metallic taste.

Static Electric and Magnetic Fields, published in 2011 in the Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety, says some studies on workers exposed to EMFs found that those manufacturing permanent magnets reported symptoms such as altered electroencephalography (voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain), slow or rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite, decreased blood pressure, irritability, fatigue, headaches, itching, burning and numbing.

ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC: Electric fields arise from voltage, the strength of which is measured in volts per metre (V/m) or kilovolts per metre (kV/m). The power of a magnetic field is measured in amperes per metre (A/m) or flux density in microteslas (ÂľT) or milliteslas (mT), the WHO notes.

While electric fields can be present even when a device is switched off, magnetic fields are created as soon as an electric current flows through a device that has been turned on. The strength of magnetic fields varies with equipment design and power consumption: the greater the current, the stronger the magnetic field surrounding it. Electric-field strength remains constant.

An EMF can take the form of a static or time-varying field. A static field is produced by a direct current that flows in only one direction and does not vary over time. Batteries and bar magnets are examples of objects that create static EMFs. In contrast, timevarying electromagnetic fields are produced by alternating currents, which reverse their direction at regular intervals. This type of field emanates from all items that use electricity.

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RING OF RISK: Workers may be exposed to high magnetic fields if they work near electrical systems that use large amounts of electric power, such as huge electric motors, generators or the power supply or electric cables of a building.

High magnetic fields are also found near power saws, drills, copy machines, electric pencil sharpeners and other small electric appliances, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Washington, D.C. While exposure levels have not been measured for many jobs, the NIOSH puts average daily medians at 1.2 millgauss (mG) for clerical workers with computers; 1.9 mG for machinists; 2.5 mG for electric-line workers; 5.4 mG for electricians; and 8.2 mG for welders.

PALPABLE PRESENCE: Static magnetic fields can be found in industries involving aluminum production, electrolytic processes, magnet production, medicine and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, information from the International Labour Organization notes.

Static electric fields are commonly used in industries such as chemicals, textiles, aviation, paper, rubber and transportation. Electrostatic fields, also found in the home around high-voltage equipment like televisions and video display terminals (VDTs), can be created by friction.

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CONFLICTING DATA: Research on the association between EMFs and adverse health outcomes is far from conclusive. In the past, people who work with VDTs have reported adverse reactions that include headaches, skin disorders, dizziness, tiredness, eye fatigue and pain and pregnancy issues.

But scientific evidence does not support the observed relationship between VDTs and these effects, notes a safety brief issued by Health Canada in 2002.

Findings in the 1970s showing that women who worked with VDTs appeared to have higher rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes can be explained by other factors, such as solvent exposure. Surveys carried out over 25 years

by Health Canada also indicate that EMF fields emitted by VDTs at the normal-user position are well below all exposure guidelines.

While some studies show that people who are regularly exposed to high magnetic fields have increased risk of different types of cancer, including brain cancer, leukemia and breast cancer, other research has found no such link at all, the NIOSH reports.

KNOW YOUR LIMIT: Due to conflicting research findings and inconclusive reports on worker exposure to EMFs, it is difficult to determine safe threshold guidelines relating to EMF exposure. As well, the strength of fields vary according to a worker’s body orientation and shape. That said, a number of organizations have recommended threshold limit values.

For instance, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) suggests that occupational exposures should not exceed a static electric field strength of 25 kV/m. Under these conditions, most unprotected workers may be exposed repeatedly without any adverse effects.

But the exposure level for workers who wear pacemakers or other medical electronic devices should not exceed 1 kV/m.

For static magnetic-field exposures, the ACGIH recommends that the daily limit for repeated exposures should not exceed 60 mT averaged over the whole body or 600 mT to the extremities.

DETECTING DEVICES: Much progress has been made over the last few decades when it comes to measuring static magnetic fields. Several electrostatic voltmeters are commercially available that can measure the strengths of static electric fields, the Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety reports. The most popular types of magnetic-field probes are shielded coils and Hall probes. More recently, personal dosimeters have also been developed.

STAND BACK: Although the NIOSH does not consider EMFs a health risk to workers, it recommends employers and workers who are concerned about EMF exposure take the following protective measures: • Inform workers and employers about the possible hazards of EMFs; • Increase a worker’s distance from the EMF source. Magnetic fields drop off significantly around 30 centimetres from the source; • Use low-EMF designs wherever possible; and • Reduce the duration of EMF exposure if it does not increase the risk of other known safety or health hazards, such as electrocution. www.ohscanada.com

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SAFETY GEAR

DISTRIBUTORS

The Missing Link

By Jason Contant

G

iven the sheer variety of personal protective equipment (PPE) available on the market — not to mention the multiple selections within each product category — selecting the right safety gear can be daunting.

Enter the distributor, an intermediary who purchases product lines and resells them to retailers or end users. A distributor is often the link in the supply chain who can offer a helping hand — not only to the manufacturers who sell through them, but also to end users who buy from them.

Distributors have a broad base of product offerings and multiple selections, even within a product category, says Craig Lindsay, president of Pacesetter Sales and Associates in East Gwillimbury, Ontario.

Alan Noble, marketing manager at Levitt-Safety in Oakville, Ontario, agrees, noting that all types of safety equipment — from disposable gloves to self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) — are sold through distributors.

Vanessa Nowak, direct marketing manager with Tenaquip Ltd. in Montreal, says the company is an industrial distributor that offers material handling, tool storage and packaging products, among other items. In terms of PPE, it carries safety glasses, work shields, work boots, gloves, hard hats, earplugs, respirators, protective apparel (such as flash, flame-resistant, chemical and high-visibility gear), emergency showers, eyewash stations and ergonomic products.

UP CLOSE From a manufacturer’s standpoint, one of the key benefits of selling through a distributor is that a distributor typically has a relationship with an end user that is “broader, deeper and better” than with a manufacturer.

“The distributor is in there talking to them about multiple, multiple products,” Lindsay says. “They will know who the right contacts are, so they will have an ongoing relationship.”

He adds that an end user also likes to buy from a distributor who offers an array of products.

Manish Gupta, market manager at Draeger Safety Canada Ltd. in Mississauga, Ontario, points out that a personal relationship between a local distributor and a customer is not uncommon, especially in small communities. “They want to know you as a person before they buy from you, even with safety equipment,” Gupta says, adding that this is particularly true in the Prairies and eastern provinces. “That is actually a big deal for some customers. It is important to them.”

Another perk of selling through a distributor is its proximity to a customer. “The distributors have the location, sales staff, inventory and people strategically located across the country, so it allows us — the manufacturer — to position inventory locally in a business community,” explains Claudio Dente, president of Dentec Safety Specialists Inc. in 36

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Newmarket, Ontario.

Gupta points out that distributors can also provide product-stocking solutions. “The manufacturer cannot be everywhere, especially remote locations, so a local distributor can provide the support you need.”

Unlike manufacturers, distributors are set up to handle many accounts. Noble says manufacturers’ enterprise resource-planning systems — software used to integrate all facets of a business operation — are usually not designed to support all incoming and outgoing orders, calls and shipments.

“The manufacturer also does not want to deal with thousands of accounts for the receivables, handling the money, whereas a distributor is set up to do that,” Lindsay adds.

Nowak agrees that manufacturers “do not want to deal with a million customers.” By working with distributors, she says manufacturers have fewer customers to manage, which allows them to focus on other priorities like production and creating “They want new products.

As distributors deal with large to know you quantities, they may receive discounts from buying in bulk. They can as a person also break down the packaging and before they buy make it easier for the end user to buy.

“A distributor creates all these effrom you.” ficiencies for a customer,” Lindsay says, citing local content, multiple product offerings and excellent management of receivables, in addition to breaking down packaging.

ROYAL TREATMENT Nowak reports that Tenaquip also provides certain “valueadded services,” such as arc-flash seminars, to customers.

For bigger clients, it can even perform inventory management by integrating the customer’s system with Tenaquip’s “and create reports for them in terms of where they are spending their money.”

In addition, the company offers a service in which safety specialists audit a workplace and suggest how the company can ensure that it is compliant with safety regulations. As various safety regulations are in force across Canada, Nowak adds that these safety specialists receive training whenever a new law is introduced.

Good customer service is paramount. If a customer receives a defective item, “we can take care of getting it repaired or replaced for them,” Nowak says, adding that the company can adjust its ordering cycles to meet customers’ needs. Knowledgeable staff can also recommend alternatives when customers request products that may take weeks to arrive, but are needed urgently.

Gupta says it is important to select a distributor who can educate the customer and answer questions. “If you phone up

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IN COMPLIANCE Once a manufacturer or an end user has selected a distributor and is looking to buy the PPE, how do they go about ensuring that it complies with safety regulations and standards?

Besides provincial or territorial occupational health and safety legislation, which sometimes specifies that PPE must meet certain CSA Group standards, the gear itself must be certified to the applicable standard.

In Ontario, CSA-approved safety glasses are required, Gupta notes. The CSA also conducts impact tests on those glasses, which other standards organizations such as the American National Standards Institute or the European Committee for Standardization may not do.

CHOICES, CHOICES “The CSA mark, buying local, has a big plus to it,” Gupta When selecting a distributor, Dente says his company uses says. “I always like to stick with North American, because I the following criteria: am compliant. I am not going to question the European one: • Do they have local inventory or branches? does it do all the things it is supposed to do in Canada?”

• Is there a relationship with the business community?

While some distributors do get requests for international • What services do they offer? products sold in other countries, these products may not be • How do they go to market for their customers? certified to meet Canadian standards. Nowak says Tenaquip • Do they have purchasing systems, such as electronic data receives some requests for products sold in other countries. exchange — a computer-to-computer exchange of busi- To handle these requests, the company has in place what it ness documents in a standard electronic format — to serve calls a “hunter group”. the local community better? and If a customer wants a particular brand outside of the com• Can they support the product online? pany’s preferred, trusted brands, “we will get it for them, but But it is not only manufacturers who benefit from using we don’t really guarantee anything in terms of that,” she says, distributors; end users themselves can also buy directly from referring to issues like product recalls. a distributor. Lindsay explains that an end user typically For customers who go with an international distributor, looks for someone who offers a wide selection of products, Gupta offers a note of caution. “If you suddenly have a probprovides good service, has the ability to fill orders complete- lem and you have to go to Italy or something to get producly, has short wait times and offers tion resolution,” he suggests, things can “become competitive pricing. “It doesn’t very complicated.” have to be the lowest price.”

Noble says the key is to buy products from a Noble says Levitt-Safety’s rerecognized manufacturer. If not, one should ensearch and anecdotal evidence sure that the product is properly tested according suggest that cost is not among the to Canadian standards. top five considerations for clients While manufacturers typically carry the same if requirements like service level, products, “one should avoid ‘discount’ distributors after-sale support and knowledgewho would sell uncertified product,” he suggests. able staff are met.

“Will they be around to support the product?”

Asking the right questions can Purchasing PPE has become more complex now help determine if a distributor is that more people are buying products online. Noble the right one, Noble says. For inasks what happens if there is a problem with the stance, are you getting the PPE on product or if it needs to be serviced. “Is this online time? Do they stock the product ‘store’ set up to support this?” you want? Do they scorecard their He also points out that many online stores are suppliers? Do they offer to service not authorized dealers. “Manufacturers will often the product? Can they keep you Distributors, who buy in large not support the product if [it is] not purchased informed of scheduled mainte- quantities, provide local content through authorized distributors — online or not.” nance for compliance reasons? Do and multiple product offerings.

Lindsay says a common approach is a trial-andthey speak your safety language? evaluation program. For example, if a company has Most manufacturers or end us100 workers who require earmuffs, it can request a ers are guided by rules regarding contractual arrangements sample of two pairs of earmuffs before purchasing in bulk. with distributors. Lindsay says some have policies on mini- “That is another way to determine not only the quality, but mum order size, while others may stipulate a certain time- also that the product suits the application.” frame after which a contract is up for renewal. A customer It is important to bear in mind that a distributor is not just who is not happy with the service can look at alternatives. a supply house, Gupta says. “By going through the distributor, Dente says his company does not have a purchasing agree- you have somebody technical [who] can actually guide your ment with a distributor. “It comes down to a business under- decision, as well as help you to make the best decision.”

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada standing that they are going to work with us to promote and sell our products and inventory it,” he says. If they do not end Jason Contant is editor of pipeline magazine. up doing that, “then we make other distribution decisions.”

PHOTO: TENAQUIP LTD.

and need the respirator for ammonia, they know which respirators to sell you and make sure this is the right respirator based on the levels and not send you a half-mask, for example, when you have levels above 300 ppm [parts per million] and need an SCBA,” he illustrates.

The distributor can also offer services like fit testing, training employees on how to clean a respirator properly or performing gas-detector calibration, maintenance and repairs.

As with any rule, there are always exceptions. For products like technical gas monitors that have to be installed, engineered and have schematics of the plant drawn up, Gupta says Draeger will sell these products directly.

www.ohscanada.com

Safety Sept 2014.indd 37

SEPTEMBER 2014

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14-08-11 8:27 AM

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

SURVEILLANCE

Big Brother’s Watching

By Carmelle Wolfson

O

ntario’s workers’ compensation board is increasingly using covert surveillance to target injured workers with costly claims, legal experts say.

While the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has always used private investigators to look into anonymous tips about potentially fraudulent claims, Maryth Yachnin, staff lawyer at the Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario (IAVGO), says the WSIB has recently started spying on injured workers, even when there is no reasonable suspicion that the person is misrepresenting a claim.

“In the past, it seems they did more targeted surveillance when they had some specific reason to suspect fraud,” Yachnin says. Now, they use a red-flag model, in which case handlers are asked to identify signs indicative of fraud or misconduct.

Internal WSIB documents, obtained by the IAVGO through a Freedom of Information request, show that these red flags refer to things that include psychological problems, frequent changes of address, prolonged healing, chronic pain and anti-social behaviour — even language barriers.

“I was surprised that the board would identify those markers as suggestive of fraud,” Yachnin says. “I just didn’t see the connection to misconduct or fraud, but what I do see a connection Pursuing an to is more expensive claims.”

Other red flags listed in the docuinvestigation ment include erratic employment history, accidents that occur shortly after without being hired, travelling unreasonable reasonable distances to see a doctor, first-time medical treatment from a chiropractor evidence is and pre-existing medical problems.

In an email that the WSIB sent to its staff in June 2011, director of com- frowned upon. pliance Bob Thomas confirms that increased surveillance is taking place. “Now that we are conducting more surveillance related to misrepresentation of level of disability where we don’t have an actual allegation, for example, call record, there have been lots of questions from compliance specialists around what constitutes sufficient grounds to warrant surveillance,” he writes.

Yachnin relates the experience of her client, Jennifer Williams, who went on workers’ compensation after physical and psychological injuries prevented her from working as a personal support worker. An investigator secretly videotaped Williams shopping at Honest Ed’s, and the board later determined that she was fit to work as a customer-service representative. After alleging that Williams was uncooperative during re-training, the board concluded that she could earn $26 an hour in customer service and cut off her benefits.

John Bartolomeo, lawyer at Toronto Workers’ Health and Safety Legal Clinic, affirms that the WSIB is taking a more

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aggressive approach than in the past, when “an anonymous tip or something was usually called in to start the process and even then, the board sometimes didn’t bother.”

Bartolomeo says he has defended several clients, mostly those with psychological injuries, in relation to surveillance around allegations of fraud. In one case, a client who became reclusive following a workplace incident was advised by his therapist to “get out more.” Then surveillance began, and Bartolomeo claims that the board accused the client of lying since he was no longer housebound. “It turned out the only reason he could do those things is because he was urged to do so to make life changes by the therapist.”

REASONABLE GROUNDS Brian Sartorelli, president and chief executive officer of Investigative Risk Management — a Barrie, Ontario-based firm that conducts surveillance on WSIB claimants for employers — says pursuing an investigation without reasonable evidence is frowned upon. “If you are unionized, that is going to be thrown out. It is going to hold no weight whatsoever.”

Furthermore, investigators should refrain from misrepresenting themselves or hacking into accounts to access socialmedia profiles, infringing on privacy by videotaping the subject in private settings and entrapping them, Sartorelli says.

“The investigation has to be absolutely above board.”

Sartorelli suggests that surveillance is becoming more common for both the WSIB and corporations, especially in cases involving third-party reports of claimants doing activities that do not reflect their injuries.

Tonya Johnson, senior public-affairs consultant for the WSIB, maintains that the board has not changed its practices.

“There is no one factor that would result in a decision to undertake surveillance. There have been no changes to our surveillance policy, selection criteria or approvals process,” she says. “Like any large insurance system, the WSIB does need to investigate potential compliance issues brought to our attention, involving employers, workers or providers. These represent a small handful of claims, approximately 0.075 per cent of total claims received annually.”

One of the internal WSIB documents obtained by the IAVGO suggested that WSIB staff “consider how the anticipated activity will inform benefit-entitlement decisions,” and that there “must be a strong likelihood surveillance evidence will have a demonstrable impact on benefit entitlement.”

The WSIB receives more than 200,000 new claims and pays out $2.6 billion annually. “Our services are focused on minimizing the impact of workplace injuries through helping injured workers recover and return to work,” Johnson says.

“In fact, 92 per cent of all injured workers are back to work at no loss in wages within one year of their injury.”

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of

ohs canada.

ohs canada

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C A N A D A

BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015

PRODUCTS

AND

SERVICES

DIRECTORY

2015 products services For supplier contact information please see alphabetical listings starting on page 52 AIR PURIFYING RESPIRATORS Bullard www.bullard.com Sundstrom Safety www.srsafety.com

AIR QUALITY MONITORING Alpha Controls and Instrumentation www.alphacontrols.com

WESA www.wesa.ca

AIR QUALITY, INDOOR

AUDIO AND LUNG FUNCTION TESTING

CERTIFICATION AND TESTING

Graywolf Sensing Solutions www.graywolfsensing.com

Bertrand Johnson Acoustics www.bjainc.com

United Air Specialists www.uasinc.com

BARRIER CREAM

Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals www.bcrsp.ca

AIR SAMPLING Argus-Hazco www.argus-hazco.ca CD Nova www.cdnova.com

Avensys Solutions www.avensyssolutions.com

Concept Controls www.conceptcontrols.com

CD Nova www.cdnova.com

LEHDER Environmental Services www.lehder.com

CEA Instruments www.ceainstr.com Critical Enviro Tech www.critical-environment.com Enmet Canada Ltd. – Div. of Arjay Engineering www.arjayeng.com

APRONS, WELDER International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

ASSOCIATION, SAFETY

Gas Measurement Instruments www.gmiuk.com

Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) www.csse.org

Graywolf Sensing Solutions www.graywolfsensing.com

Intl Safety Equip Assoc www.safetyequipment.org

LEHDER Environmental Services www.lehder.com

Trillium Intl www.dermadefense.com

BOOKS, BOOKLETS, NOTEBOOKS Carswell, a Thomson Reuters Business www.carswell.com DEVTRA Inc. – The “CHECKER” www.thechecker.net

BioFit Engineered www.biofit.com Chairs www.chairslimited.com Ergomat Cda www.ergomat.com Micwil Group of Companies www.ergocanada.com The Global www.globaltotaloffice.com

BOOTS, SAFETY

CONFERENCES

Collins Safety Inc. www.collins.ca

Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) www.csse.org

L.P. Royer www.royer.com Mister Safety www.mistersafetyshoes.com Winter Walking – A Jordan David www.winterwalking.com

Levitt Safety www.levitt-safety.com

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services www.wsps.ca

BREATHING AIR

MST/Modern Safety Tech www.modsafe.com

Workplace Safety North Workplacesafetynorth.ca

Air Systems International www.airsystems.com

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CHAIRS, ERGONOMIC

Natl Safety Council www.nsc.org

CONFINED SPACE 3M Canada www.3M.ca/safety CEA Instruments www.ceainstr.com Enmet Canada Ltd. – Div. of Arjay Engineering www.arjayeng.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 FoxFury Lighting Solutions www.foxfury.com Gas Measurement Instruments www.gmiuk.com GfG Instrumentation www.goodforgas.com Industrial Scientific www.indsci.com

CONSULTANTS, HUMAN FACTORS FSEAP www.fseap.com Human Factors www.hfn.ca

C A N A D A

CONSULTANTS, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT

E.K. Gillin & Assoc www.ekginc.com

Armstrong Medical www.armstrongmedical.com

Fournier Health Mgmt Solutions www.fournierhealth.com

Haws Corp www.hawsco.com

CONSULTING, ENGINEERING

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Argus-Hazco www.argus-hazco.ca

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

CONSULTANTS, OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE

RKI Instruments www.rkiinstruments.com

CorWil Technologies www.cwt-ltd.ca

Safety Direct www.safetydirect.ca

LEHDER Environmental Services www.lehder.com

CorWil Technologies www.cwt-ltd.ca

EMERGENCY OXYGEN UNITS

Special Electronics & Designs www.rescom.ca

Pinchin www.pinchin.com

Parsons Canada www.parsons.com

Ocenco www.ocenco.com

YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

T. Harris Environmental www.tharris.ca

CONSULTANTS, ENVIRONMENTAL

WESA www.wesa.ca

SNC-Lavalin Inc. Environment & Water www.snclavalin.com/environment

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

AirZOne One www.airzoneone.com CorWil Technologies www.cwt-ltd.ca

CONSULTANTS, OH&S AirZOne One www.airzoneone.com

ERIS www.erisinfo.com

Alert@Work Human Resource Services www.alertatwork.com

LEHDER Environmental Services www.lehder.com

Beyond Rewards Inc. www.beyondrewards.ca

Parsons Canada www.parsons.com

Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) www.csse.org

Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc. www.ThermOmegaTech.com

360 Guarding www.guarding.ca

DISABILITY MANAGEMENT Fournier Health Mgmt Solutions www.fournierhealth.com Natl Inst Of Disability Mgmt www.nidmar.ca Niagara Software www.wcbpro.ca

DRIVING SAFETY Natl Safety Council www.nsc.org

a

f/

up fr

ProTELEC checkMate www.proteleccheckmate.com

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PLANS (EAP) FSEAP www.fseap.com

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES E.K. Gillin & Assoc www.ekginc.com ECOLOG NEWS www.ecolog.com LEHDER Environmental Services www.lehder.com

Dell Tech Lab www.delltech.com

DUST MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS

SNC-Lavalin Inc. Environment & Water www.snclavalin.com/environment

Electrolab Training www.electrolab.ca

3M Detection Solutions www.3m.com/detection

T. Harris Environmental www.tharris.ca

Health Sys Group www.healthsystemsgroup.com

CD Nova www.cdnova.com

TankTek Environmental Services www.tanktek.com

O’Reilly Health & Safety Consulting www.ohsconsulting.ca

Kanomax USA, Inc. www.kanomax-usa.com

EARMUFFS

Solid Waste/Recycle www.solidwastemag.com

CONSULTANTS, ERGONOMIC

Pinchin www.pinchin.com

3M Canada www.3M.ca/safety

Sonic Soil Sampling www.sonicsoil.com

T. Harris Environmental www.tharris.ca

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

TankTek Environmental Services www.tanktek.com

Team-1 Academy www.team1academy.com

Howard Leight by Honeywell www.howardleight.com

WESA www.wesa.ca

Westlake & Associates Consulting www.highimpacths.com

EARPLUGS

ERGONOMIC SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT

Pinchin www.pinchin.com

BodyLogic Health www.backlogic.com Chairs www.chairslimited.com ErgonoWorks Unlimited, Inc. www.ergonoworks.com Human Factors www.hfn.ca Workplace Safety & Wellness Solutions www.workplacesafety-ontario.com

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services www.wsps.ca Workplace Safety North Workplacesafetynorth.ca

3M Canada www.3M.ca/safety

Parsons Canada www.parsons.com Pentek www.pentekusa.com SNC-Lavalin Inc. Environment & Water www.snclavalin.com/environment

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

ErgoCanada – Ergonomics Portal of Micwil Group of Companies Ltd. www.ergocanada.com

Howard Leight by Honeywell www.howardleight.com

Ergomat Cda www.ergomat.com

www.ohscanada.com

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C A N A D A

BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015

ErgonoWorks Unlimited, Inc. www.ergonoworks.com

Cederroth AB www.firstaid.cederroth.com

Capital Safety www.capitalsafety.com

Kit Care Corp www.kitcarecorp.com

Jenalex Inc. – Ergonomic Products www.jenalex.ca

Encon Safety Products www.enconsafety.com

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

SOS Emergency Response www.sostor.com

Haws Corp www.hawsco.com

Innovative Fall Protection www.innovativefallprotection.com

FIRST AID TRAINING

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

Can U Rescue? www.canurescue.com

MSA – The Safety Co. www.msanet.com

Canadian Red Cross www.redcross.ca/workplacefirstaid

Micwil Group of Companies www.ergocanada.com Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

ERGONOMIC TABLES

Kit Care Corp www.kitcarecorp.com

Chairs www.chairslimited.com

Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc. www.ThermOmegaTech.com

The Global www.globaltotaloffice.com

FACE PROTECTION

Saf Precision Mfg www.flangebar.com

Green Extreme Outdoors www.professional.buffcanada.com

Safety Direct www.safetydirect.ca

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Team-1 Academy www.team1academy.com

Optrel www.optrel.com

Tritech Fall Protection Systems www.tritechfallprotection.com

DuPont Personal Protection www.personalprotection.dupont.ca

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

Green Extreme Outdoors www.professional.buffcanada.com

YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

FILTRATION SYSTEMS

Lakeland Protective www.lakeland.com

Air Systems International www.airsystems.com

NASCO Industries, Inc. www.nascoinc.com

Parker Finite Airtek Filtration www.parker.com/faf

Ranpro www.ranpro.com

EYEWASH STATION, PRESERVATIVES A-Med Supply – Div. 1602041 Ontario www.a-medsupply.com

EYEWASH, EMERGENCY A-Med Supply – Div. 1602041 Ontario www.a-medsupply.com Bradley Corporation www.bradleycorp.com

Uvex by Honeywell www.uvex.us

FALL PROTECTION Canadian Safety Equipment www.cdnsafety.com

Pelsue www.pelsue.com

United Air Specialists www.uasinc.com

FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT Canadian Safety Equipment www.cdnsafety.com FoxFury Lighting Solutions www.foxfury.com Lakeland Protective www.lakeland.com

FIRST AID

welding has never been so comfortable. revolutionary wear comfort • 2.7x larger field of view • lightweight design swift handling • variable shade levels 3/9-12 • ANSI Z87.1+ impact resistant

www.optrel.com • info_us@optrel.com • ph 401.398.7240

FLAME RESISTANT CLOTHING Carhartt www.carhartt.com

Tecgen www.tecgen.com Workrite Uniform www.workrite.com/canada

FLAMMABLE STORAGE CABINETS Tenaquip www.tenaquip.com Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

A-Med Supply – Div. 1602041 Ontario www.a-medsupply.com

FOOTRESTS

Can U Rescue? www.canurescue.com

www.biofit.com

Canadian Red Cross www.redcross.ca/workplacefirstaid

Foot-Cares www.foot-cares.com

Cederroth AB www.firstaid.cederroth.com

Micwil Group of Companies www.ergocanada.com

Dentec Safety www.dentecsafety.com

FORK LIFT TRAINING

Forestry Suppliers www.forestry-suppliers.com

Elite Training Company www.elite-training.ca

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Lift Truck Safety Training Centre www.liftrucksafetytraining.ca

BioFit Engineered

B U Y E R S ’ G U I D E 2015 ohs canada 9015

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SOS Emergency Response www.sostor.com

2015 OHS buyer guide.indd 42

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We’re not afraid to offer the

longest warranty on the market

Get the detector with sensors that last five full years, not 18 months.

9015

It’s a mistake to overlook something as small as a sensor when buying gas detectors. That’s because the cost to purchase a gas detector is only a fraction of the cost to operate one. You may not even realize it, but sensor replacement overtime costs you thousands of dollars in sensors, labour, calibration, and downtime. At Dräger, we believe a quality sensor needs to be more than just accurate. It should last too. To prove it, the sensors found in the X-am® 2500, X-am® 5000, and Pac® 7000 come available with a 5-year warranty – the longest on the market. So, isn’t it time to start thinking small and saving big? www.draeger.com/sensorsavings

2015 OHS buyer guide.indd 43

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015

C A N A D A

FUNCTIONAL ABILITIES EVALUATION Capital Vocational Specialists www.cvs.ca

GAS DETECTION Avensys Solutions www.avensyssolutions.com Gas Measurement Instruments www.gmiuk.com GfG Instrumentation www.goodforgas.com Industrial Scientific www.indsci.com RKI Instruments www.rkiinstruments.com

GAS DETECTOR TUBES Draeger Cda www.draeger.ca

GAS DETECTORS Alpha Controls and Instrumentation www.alphacontrols.com

Argus-Hazco www.argus-hazco.ca

RKI Instruments www.rkiinstruments.com

Watson Gloves www.watsongloves.com

BW Technologies by Honeywell www.gasmonitors.com

GLASSES, SAFETY

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

CEA Instruments www.ceainstr.com

Canadian Association of Optometrists www.opto.ca

Critical Enviro Tech www.critical-environment.com

CHUMS Inc. www.chumssafety.com

Draeger Cda www.draeger.ca

Encon Safety Products www.enconsafety.com

Enmet Canada Ltd. – Div. of Arjay Engineering www.arjayeng.com

F.O. Safety Eyewear www.fosafetyeyewear.ca

Gas Measurement Instruments www.gmiuk.com

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

GfG Instrumentation www.goodforgas.com

Tek Canada www.tekoptical.com

Graywolf Sensing Solutions www.graywolfsensing.com

Uvex by Honeywell www.uvex.us

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

Industrial Scientific www.indsci.com

Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

Kanomax USA, Inc. www.kanomax-usa.com

GLOVES

Ansell Canada www.ansellcanada.ca

MSA – The Safety Co. www.msanet.com

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

DuPont Personal Protection www.personalprotection.dupont.ca

GLOVES, DISPOSABLE CanSafe-SafetyZone – Div. of SafetyZone www.cansafe.com Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com Ronco Protective Products www.ronco.ca Showa-Best Glove Mfg. www.showabestglove.com Watson Gloves www.watsongloves.com Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

GLOVES, PROTECTIVE

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

Kimberly-Clark Professional www.kc-safety.com

GUARDING, MACHINE

Ranpro www.ranpro.com

360 Guarding www.guarding.ca

HAZARDOUS WASTE, TREATMENT, REMOVAL

Ronco Protective Products www.ronco.ca

HAND CLEANERS

Cartier Chem www.cartierchem.com

Showa-Best Glove Mfg. www.showabestglove.com

Deb Canada www.debgroup.com

Clean Harbors Environmental Services www.cleanharbors.com

Superior Glove Works www.superiorglove.com

HARD HATS

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety www.ccohs.ca

Watson Gloves www.watsongloves.com

Bullard www.bullard.com

Pentek www.pentekusa.com

E.K. Gillin & Assoc www.ekginc.com

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

The Doctor’s Office, MCI-Occupational Health www.mcimed.com

Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

MSA – The Safety Co. www.msanet.com

HEALTH & SAFETY DATABASE COLLECTIONS/ MANAGEMENT

GOGGLES, SAFETY

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

Encon Safety Products www.enconsafety.com Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Clean Harbors Environmental Services www.cleanharbors.com

Uvex by Honeywell www.uvex.us

Pinchin www.pinchin.com

Veolia ES Canada Services Industriels Inc. www.Veoliase.com

C A N A D A

F.O. Safety Eyewear www.fosafetyeyewear.ca Foot-Cares www.foot-cares.com

HEALTH, OCCUPATIONAL Bellwood Health Services www.bellwood.ca

Debolt Data Depository www.deboltdata.com

HEALTH SERVICES Bellwood Health Services www.bellwood.ca Canadian Association of Optometrists www.opto.ca

HEARING PROTECTION Bertrand Johnson Acoustics www.bjainc.com Electro Med www.emi-canada.com Howard Leight by Honeywell www.howardleight.com Moldex-Metric www.moldex.com

CASL CONFUSION????

GOOD NEWS FROM OHS CANADA: We Are CASL Compliant!

Read OHS Canada and use our online services with assurance and convenience.All of our eMedia services including our 3rd party e-blasts and weekly eNews are CASL compliant for your privacy and security - delivered directly to you via OHS Canada and Pipeline Media.

KEy STATS: Over 43.4% of our subscribers open OHS Canada eNews every Tuesday, with our CASL compliant circulation at 11,500 and growing. Over 70% of OHS Canada Magazine readers indicate they visit www.ohscanada.com at least twice a month, and view over 100,000 pages.

CONSENT? SPAM? CEMs? COMPLIANCE?

= COMPLETE CONFUSION!!!

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Contact: Peter Boxer, Publisher Tel: (416) 510-5102 pboxer@ohscanada.com

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www.ohscanada.com

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C A N A D A

BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015

Special Electronics & Designs www.rescom.ca

Carhartt www.carhartt.com

Tenaquip www.tenaquip.com

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

Green Extreme Outdoors www.professional.buffcanada.com

HEARING TESTING

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

IMPACT/VIBRATION PROTECTION

Eckel Industries of Canada Ltd. www.eckel.ca Electro Med www.emi-canada.com Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

HEAT STRESS, DRINKS, EQUIPMENT

Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Beyond Rewards Inc. www.beyondrewards.ca

HYGIENE

Dentec Safety www.dentecsafety.com

ArjoHuntleigh Canada www.ArjoHuntleigh.com

HEAT STRESS MONITORS

Cannon Hygiene Canada www.cannonservices.ca

3M Detection Solutions www.3m.com/detection Concept Controls www.conceptcontrols.com

IDENTIFICATION PRODUCTS

HIGH VISIBILITY APPAREL

Accuform Signs www.accuform.com

American Safety Vest www.americansafetyvest.com

K-Sun www.ksun.com

INFECTION CONTROL PRODUCTS ArjoHuntleigh Canada www.ArjoHuntleigh.com

Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

Deb Canada www.debgroup.com

INCENTIVES & PROMOTIONS

INSTRUMENTATION

American Safety Vest www.americansafetyvest.com

Alpha Controls and Instrumentation www.alphacontrols.com

CHUMS Inc. www.chumssafety.com

Avensys Solutions www.avensyssolutions.com

Glove Guard LP www.gloveguard.com

BW Technologies by Honeywell www.gasmonitors.com

Peavey Performance Systems www.safetyjackpot.com

Critical Enviro Tech www.critical-environment.com

INDEPENDENT MEDICAL EVALUATIONS Capital Vocational Specialists www.cvs.ca Workplace Safety & Wellness Solutions www.workplacesafety-ontario.com

Electro Med www.emi-canada.com Forestry Suppliers www.forestry-suppliers.com Gas Measurement Instruments www.gmiuk.com GENEQ Inc. www.geneq.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 Santronics www.santronicsinc.com

Lind Equipment www.lindequipment.net

JOB SITE ANALYSIS/ PHYSICAL DEMANDS ANALYSIS

LOCKOUT EQUIPMENT

Capital Vocational Specialists www.cvs.ca

Accuform Signs www.accuform.com

Workplace Safety & Wellness Solutions www.workplacesafety-ontario.com

Brady Canada www.bradycanada.ca

KNIVES, SAFETY

360 Guarding www.guarding.ca

Master Lock Canada www.masterlock.com

EcoLog Legislation and EcoLog Legislative Tracker www.ecolog.com ECOLOG NEWS www.ecolog.com OHS Canada Media www.ohscanada.com

VF Imagewear Canada Inc. www.bulwark.com

Exair www.exair.com

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

NOISE DOSIMETERS

Workrite Uniform www.workrite.com/canada

Stonehouse Signs www.stonehousesigns.com

3M Detection Solutions www.3m.com/detection

The Safety Knife Company www.safetyknife.net/

Tenaquip www.tenaquip.com

Concept Controls www.conceptcontrols.com

LABORATORY SERVICES

Unique Products www.e-zeelockouts.com

GENEQ Inc. www.geneq.com

AirZOne One www.airzoneone.com

MATERIAL HANDLING

Dell Tech Lab www.delltech.com

Exair www.exair.com

Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News www.ohscanada.com

Pinchin www.pinchin.com

Justrite Mfg www.justritemfg.com

Crisis Prevention Institute www.crisisprevention.com

LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL

Strider www.strider-resource.com

Danatec Educational Svcs www.danatec.com

Tractel www.tractel.com

E-Training www.etraintoday.com

MATS, ANTI-FATIGUE

OHS Canada Media www.ohscanada.com

Ergomat Cda www.ergomat.com

SafetySync www.safetysync.com

Jenalex Inc. – Ergonomic Products www.jenalex.ca

YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

LEGISLATION EcoLog Legislation and EcoLog Legislative Tracker www.ecolog.com

LENS CLEANERS CHUMS Inc. www.chumssafety.com Nanofilm www.defogitworks.com Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

LIFTING EQUIPMENT ArjoHuntleigh Canada www.ArjoHuntleigh.com Jenalex Inc. – Ergonomic Products www.jenalex.ca

LIGHTING, EXPLOSION PROOF FoxFury Lighting Solutions www.foxfury.com

Superior Glove Works www.superiorglove.com

Eckel Industries of Canada Ltd. www.eckel.ca

OLFA www.olfa.com

Pentek www.pentekusa.com

Showa-Best Glove Mfg. www.showabestglove.com

Tek Canada www.tekoptical.com

Santronics www.santronicsinc.com

LEAD ABATEMENT

Ronco Protective Products www.ronco.ca

NOISE CONTROL

Martor USA www.martorusa.com

ERIS www.erisinfo.com

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Amsal Inc. www.amsalinc.com

ONLINE TRAINING

Armstrong Medical www.armstrongmedical.com BW Technologies by Honeywell www.gasmonitors.com Collins Safety Inc. www.collins.ca Dentec Safety www.dentecsafety.com F.O. Safety Eyewear www.fosafetyeyewear.ca Gateway Safety, Inc. www.gatewaysafety.com Grace Industries, Inc. www.graceindustries.com Great Lakes Safety Products www.glspi.com Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

Mul-T-Mat www.mul-t-mat.com

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE APPAREL

MATS, ANTI-SLIP

DuPont Personal Protection www.personalprotection.dupont.ca

J. J. Keller & Associates Inc. www.jjkeller.com/jjk

Mul-T-Mat www.mul-t-mat.com

Gateway Safety, Inc. www.gatewaysafety.com

Kit Care Corp www.kitcarecorp.com

No Skidding Prod www.noskidding.com

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

L.P. Royer www.royer.com

MSDS MANAGEMENT AUTHORING & DISTRIBUTION

Kimberly-Clark Professional www.kc-safety.com

Levitt Safety www.levitt-safety.com

Lakeland Protective www.lakeland.com

Debolt Data Depository www.deboltdata.com

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

Mister Safety www.mistersafetyshoes.com

MST/Modern Safety Tech www.modsafe.com

Dell Tech Lab www.delltech.com

Mount Vernon FR www.mvmfr.com

Saf Precision Mfg www.flangebar.com

NEWSLETTERS

NASCO Industries, Inc. www.nascoinc.com

Safety Direct www.safetydirect.ca

Ranpro www.ranpro.com

Sentry Protection Prod www.sentrypro.com

Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News www.ohscanada.com

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

www.ohscanada.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE2015

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C A N A D A

Team-1 Academy www.team1academy.com

RESPIRATORS

DEVTRA Inc. – The “CHECKER” www.thechecker.net

Lift Truck Safety Training Centre www.liftrucksafetytraining.ca

Tek Canada www.tekoptical.com

Honeywell Safety Products www.honeywellsafety.com

J. J. Keller & Associates Inc. www.jjkeller.com/jjk

Master Lock Canada www.masterlock.com

Tractel www.tractel.com

Moldex-Metric www.moldex.com

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

Tritech Fall Protection Systems www.tritechfallprotection.com

Sundstrom Safety www.srsafety.com

SAFETY PRODUCTS, TRAFFIC

Winter Walking – A Jordan David www.winterwalking.com

Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com

PUBLISHERS Carswell, a Thomson Reuters Business www.carswell.com EcoLog Legislation and EcoLog Legislative Tracker www.ecolog.com

Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

RESPIRATORY PROTECTION Bullard www.bullard.com Dentec Safety www.dentecsafety.com

ECOLOG NEWS www.ecolog.com

Draeger Cda www.draeger.ca

ERIS www.erisinfo.com

Gateway Safety, Inc. www.gatewaysafety.com

HazMat Management Magazine www.hazmatmag.com

Great Lakes Safety Products www.glspi.com

OHS Canada Media www.ohscanada.com

Kimberly-Clark Professional www.kc-safety.com

Solid Waste/Recycle www.solidwastemag.com

Moldex-Metric www.moldex.com

RAINWEAR

MST/Modern Safety Tech www.modsafe.com

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com NASCO Industries, Inc. www.nascoinc.com Zenith Safety Products www.zenithsafety.com

REFLECTIVE APPAREL American Safety Vest www.americansafetyvest.com International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com Superior Glove Works www.superiorglove.com

RESCUE, CONFINED SPACE, HIGH ANGLE Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com Pelsue www.pelsue.com Special Electronics & Designs www.rescom.ca

Ocenco www.ocenco.com Sundstrom Safety www.srsafety.com

RETURN-TO-WORK

Amsal Inc. www.amsalinc.com

Natl Safety Council www.nsc.org Occupational Safety Group (OSG) www.osg.ca

Brady Canada www.bradycanada.ca Great Lakes Safety Products www.glspi.com

O’Reilly Health & Safety Consulting www.ohsconsulting.ca

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

Peavey Performance Systems www.safetyjackpot.com

SAFETY PRODUCTS, UTILITY

ProTELEC checkMate www.proteleccheckmate.com

Capital Safety www.capitalsafety.com

SafetySync www.safetysync.com Team-1 Academy www.team1academy.com

Glove Guard LP www.gloveguard.com Grace Industries, Inc. www.graceindustries.com

University of New Brunswick www.unb.ca/cel/unbohs

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

Westlake & Associates Consulting www.highimpacths.com

Justrite Mfg www.justritemfg.com

SAFETY RAILINGS

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

Mul-T-Mat www.mul-t-mat.com

SAFETY SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

Strider www.strider-resource.com The Safety Knife Company www.safetyknife.net/

Amsal Inc. www.amsalinc.com Cartier Chem www.cartierchem.com

ErgonoWorks Unlimited, Inc. www.ergonoworks.com

SAFETY PROGRAMS, TRAINING

Fournier Health Mgmt Solutions www.fournierhealth.com

Beyond Rewards Inc. www.beyondrewards.ca

Collins Safety Inc. www.collins.ca

Health Sys Group www.healthsystemsgroup.com

BodyLogic Health www.backlogic.com

Dentec Safety www.dentecsafety.com

Natl Inst Of Disability Mgmt www.nidmar.ca

Capital Safety www.capitalsafety.com

Forestry Suppliers www.forestry-suppliers.com

DuPont Personal Protection www.personalprotection.dupont.ca

Glove Guard LP www.gloveguard.com

E-Training www.etraintoday.com

Innovative Fall Protection www.innovativefallprotection.com

Electrolab Training www.electrolab.ca

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

Elite Training Company www.elite-training.ca

Justrite Mfg www.justritemfg.com

Innovative Fall Protection www.innovativefallprotection.com

Levitt Safety www.levitt-safety.com

J. J. Keller & Associates Inc. www.jjkeller.com/jjk

Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell www.millerfallprotection.com

SAFETY FLOORING No Skidding Prod www.noskidding.com

SAFETY MANUALS, POSTERS, ETC.

Team-1 Academy www.team1academy.com

Carswell, a Thomson Reuters Business www.carswell.com

Tractel www.tractel.com

CoCoSafe www.cocosafe.com

CoCoSafe www.cocosafe.com

www.ohscanada.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015

Mister Safety www.mistersafetyshoes.com

SHOWERS, EMERGENCY

Pacesetter Sales www.pacesettersales.com

Bradley Corporation www.bradleycorp.com

ProTELEC checkMate www.proteleccheckmate.com

CanSafe-SafetyZone – Div. of SafetyZone www.cansafe.com

Saf Precision Mfg www.flangebar.com Santronics www.santronicsinc.com SOS Emergency Response www.sostor.com Strider www.strider-resource.com The Safety Knife Company www.safetyknife.net/ Trillium Intl www.dermadefense.com Unique Products www.e-zeelockouts.com Wayne Safety www.waynesafety.com Winter Walking – A Jordan David www.winterwalking.com

SAFETY, PRE-START REVIEWS Westlake & Associates Consulting www.highimpacths.com

SEATING, ERGONOMIC BioFit Engineered www.biofit.com

SECURITY, PADLOCK Master Lock Canada www.masterlock.com

SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS Ocenco www.ocenco.com

Trusty Step www.trusty-step.com

Clean Harbors Environmental Services www.cleanharbors.com

SOFTWARE, ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION, RISK ANALYSIS

TankTek Environmental Services www.tanktek.com Veolia ES Canada Services Industriels Inc. www.Veoliase.com

Knowledgeware Comm www.kccsoft.com

Encon Safety Products www.enconsafety.com

SUBSTANCE ABUSE ASSESSMENTS

Niagara Software www.wcbpro.ca

Haws Corp www.hawsco.com Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc. www.ThermOmegaTech.com

SOFTWARE, AUDIT, WCB, WHMIS

SIGNS AND LABELS

Internet Based Learning www.whmis.net

Accuform Signs www.accuform.com

Niagara Software www.wcbpro.ca

AddLight.com www.addlight.com

FSEAP www.fseap.com

TDG TRAINING Danatec Educational Svcs www.danatec.com Monarch Regulatory Services www.monarchregservices.ca

SOFTWARE, HEALTH & SAFETY

Brady Canada www.bradycanada.ca ICC The Compliance www.thecompliancecenter.com

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety www.ccohs.ca

K-Sun www.ksun.com

DEVTRA Inc. – The “CHECKER” www.thechecker.net

Stonehouse Signs www.stonehousesigns.com

SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

ErgoCanada – Ergonomics Portal of Micwil Group of Companies Ltd. www.ergocanada.com

Deb Canada www.debgroup.com

K-Sun www.ksun.com

Trillium Intl www.dermadefense.com

SafetySync www.safetysync.com

SLEEP MANAGEMENT

SOUND LEVEL METERS

Alert@Work Human Resource Services www.alertatwork.com

GENEQ Inc. www.geneq.com

SLIP CONTROL

Kanomax USA, Inc. www.kanomax-usa.com

Dynamic Research www.dynamicresearchcompany.com

SPILL CLEANUP, SUPPLIES, SERVICES

No Skidding Prod www.noskidding.com

Cartier Chem www.cartierchem.com

YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

TRAINING AIDS & MANUALS Armstrong Medical www.armstrongmedical.com BodyLogic Health www.backlogic.com CoCoSafe www.cocosafe.com Electrolab Training www.electrolab.ca The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing www.ryerson.ca/ce YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

TRAINING AND EDUCATION Acute Environmental & Safety Services www.acuteservices.com

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B U Y E R S ’ G U I D E 2015 ohs canada

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 Alert@Work Human Resource Services www.alertatwork.com Bellwood Health Services www.bellwood.ca Bertrand Johnson Acoustics www.bjainc.com BC Tech Institute www.bcit.ca/study/programs/6850cert Can U Rescue? www.canurescue.com

LEHDER Environmental Services www.lehder.com Lift Truck Safety Training Centre www.liftrucksafetytraining.ca Monarch Regulatory Services www.monarchregservices.ca Natl Inst Of Disability Mgmt www.nidmar.ca Occupational Safety Group (OSG) www.osg.ca

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety www.ccohs.ca

O’Reilly Health & Safety Consulting www.ohsconsulting.ca

Crisis Prevention Institute www.crisisprevention.com

Team-1 Academy www.team1academy.com

DPA Communications www.dpac.com

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services www.wsps.ca

E-Training www.etraintoday.com Elite Training Company www.elite-training.ca The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing www.ryerson.ca/ce

Workplace Safety North Workplacesafetynorth.ca

TRANSPORTATION OF DANGEROUS GOODS

VENTILATION, CONFINED SPACE Air Systems International www.airsystems.com

C A N A D A

WORK ALONE SAFETY ARETE Safety and Protection www.arete.ca

Continental Fan Canada www.continentalfan.com

Blackline GPS www.blacklinesafety.com

Pelsue www.pelsue.com

Canadian Safety Equipment www.cdnsafety.com

VIOLENCE PREVENTION ARETE Safety and Protection www.arete.ca Crisis Prevention Institute www.crisisprevention.com

Grace Industries, Inc. www.graceindustries.com ProTELEC checkMate www.proteleccheckmate.com

WHMIS TRAINING

WORK CLOTHING

Knowledgeware Comm www.kccsoft.com

Carhartt www.carhartt.com

YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

WHMIS, TRAINING, MSDS ETC. Canadian Red Cross www.redcross.ca/workplacefirstaid

Health Sys Group www.healthsystemsgroup.com

Veolia ES Canada Services Industriels Inc. www.Veoliase.com

ICC The Compliance www.thecompliancecenter.com

YOW Canada www.yowcanada.com

Debolt Data Depository www.deboltdata.com

Intl Safety Equip Assoc www.safetyequipment.org

UNIFORM SERVICES

ICC The Compliance www.thecompliancecenter.com

Internet Based Learning www.whmis.net

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com

Internet Based Learning www.whmis.net

Knowledgeware Comm www.kccsoft.com

VF Imagewear Canada Inc. www.bulwark.com

Monarch Regulatory Services www.monarchregservices.ca

Danatec Educational Svcs www.danatec.com

International Sew-Right www.safetyclothingcanada.com Mount Vernon FR www.mvmfr.com Workrite Uniform www.workrite.com/canada

WORKSTATIONS ErgoCanada – Ergonomics Portal of Micwil Group of Companies Ltd. www.ergocanada.com The Global www.globaltotaloffice.com

• • •

www.ohscanada.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015

C A N A D A

ALPHABETICAL

LISTINGS

2015 products services For services and product directory please see listings starting on page 40 360 Guarding Ltd. 10-400 Monarch Ave Ajax ON L1S 3W6 905 239-3690 Fax: 905 239-3699 Toll-Free Fax: 877 360-3604 sales@guarding.ca www.guarding.ca

Accuform Signs 16228 Flight Path Dr Brooksville FL 34604 352 799-5434 Toll-Free: 800 237-1001 Toll-Free Fax: 800 394-4001 customerservice@accuform.com www.accuform.com Mktg/Social Media Spec Jim Redmile Acute Environmental & Safety Services Inc. 3-730 Bridge St Waterloo ON N2V 2J4 519 747-5075 Fax: 519 747-4608 Toll-Free: 866 448-5075 info@acuteservices.com www.acuteservices.com Pres Ron Campbell

3M Canada Company 300 Tartan Dr London ON N5V 4M9 Fax: 519 452-4600 Toll-Free: 800 265-1840 www.3M.ca/safety 3M Detection Solutions 1060 Corporate Center Dr Oconomowoc WI 53066 262 567-9157 Fax: 262 567-4047 Toll-Free: 800 245-0779 3mdetection@mail.com www.3m.com/detection Mktg Mgr Melissa Wesemann A-Med Supply – Div. 1602041 Ontario Limited 408-242 Johnson St Kingston ON K7L 1Y3 Location: 100 Harry Walker Pkwy N Newmarket ON L3Y 7B2 905 953-9946 Fax: 905 953-8351 info@a-medsupply.com www.a-medsupply.com Agent Ed Maloney

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AddLight.com 5034 Providence Rd Charlotte NC 28226-5850 704 525-6210 Fax: 704 525-6310 Toll-Free: 888 367-1010 info@addlight.com www.addlight.com Pres Paul Holmes Air Systems International 829 Juniper Cr Chesapeake VA 23320 757 424-3967 Fax: 757 424-5348 Toll-Free: 800 866-8100 Toll-Free Fax: 800 247-5850 sales@airsystems.com www.airsystems.com

Airzone One Ltd. 222 Matheson Blvd E Mississauga ON L4Z 1X1 905 890-6957 Fax: 905 890-8629 info@airzoneone.com www.airzoneone.com Consultant Charles Geen Alert@Work Human Resource Services 427 Briarvale Crt Saskatoon SK S7V 1B8 306 975-1165 Fax: 306 652-6161 Toll-Free: 866 975-1165 schurgoode@sasktel.net www.alertatwork.com Owner Carolyn Schur Alpha Controls and Instrumentation Inc. 6-361 Steelcase Rd W Markham ON L3R 3V8 905 477-2133 Fax: 905 477-4219 Toll-Free: 800 567-8686 alphasales@alphacontrols.com www.alphacontrols.com Sls Mgr Marc Brand American Safety Vest 37 Eastern Ave East Providence RI 02914 401 435-0200 Fax: 401 434-2299 madison@americansafetyvest.com www.americansafetyvest.com Cust Serv Mgr Madison Castle

Amsal Inc. 11465 rue Sherbrooke E Montréal-Est QC H1B 1C2 514 645-7477 Fax: 514 645-7479 Toll-Free: 800 645-4758 adm@amsalinc.com www.amsalinc.com Ansell Canada Inc. 105 rue Lauder Cowansville QC J2K 2K8 450 266-1850 Fax: 450 266-6130 Toll-Free: 800 363-8340 serviceclientcanada@ansell.com www.ansellcanada.ca ARETE Safety and Protection inc.

204-2323 Quebec St Vancouver BC V5T 4S7 604 732-1799 Fax: 604 732-1798 Toll-Free: 877 337-1122 aretesafety@arete.ca www.arete.ca Argus-Hazco 26-2283 Argentia Rd Mississauga ON L5N 5Z2 905 858-3215 Fax: 905 858-3192 Toll-Free: 800 361-3201 info@argus-hazco.ca www.argus-hazco.ca Gen Mgr Rose Calabrese ArjoHuntleigh Canada Inc. 300-90 Matheson Blvd W Mississauga ON L5R 3R3 800 665-4831 Fax: 800 309-1116

ohs canada

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 Toll-Free: 800 665-4831 Toll-Free Fax: 800 309-1116 Info.Canada@ArjoHuntleigh.com www.ArjoHuntleigh.com Armstrong Medical Industries, Inc. 575 Knightsbridge Pkwy Lincolnshire IL 60069 847 913-0101 Fax: 847 913-0138 Toll-Free: 800 323-4220 csr@armstrongmedical.com www.armstrongmedical.com Avensys Solutions Inc. 422 Consumers Rd Toronto ON M2J 1P8 416 499-4421 Fax: 416 499-0816 Toll-Free: 888 965-4700 info@avensyssolutions.com www.avensyssolutions.com Bellwood Health Services Inc. 1020 McNicoll Ave Scarborough ON M1W 2J6 416 495-0926 Fax: 416 495-7943 Toll-Free: 800 387-6198 info@bellwood.ca www.bellwood.ca Clin Dir Susan McGrail Bertrand Johnson Acoustics Inc. 302-5995 boul Gouin O Montréal QC H4J 2P8 514 332-2050; 514 335-3021.

Fax: 514 339-1057 Toll-Free: 800 363-0958 info@bjainc.com www.bjainc.com Pres Ninon Bertrand Beyond Rewards Inc. 218 Silvercreek Pkwy N Unit 17A Suite 327 Guelph ON N1H 8E8 Location: 57 Rochelle Dr Guelph ON N1K 1L1 519 821-7440 Fax: 519 821-7680 info@beyondrewards.ca www.beyondrewards.ca Pres Lynne Bard; VP/H&S Allan Teal BioFit Engineered Products PO Box 109 Waterville OH 43566-0109 Location: 15500 Biofit Way Bowling Green OH 43402 419 823-1089 Fax: 419 823-1342 Toll-Free: 800 597-0246 biofit@biofit.com www.biofit.com Exec Asst Liz Sworden Blackline GPS Corp.

101-1215 13th St SE Calgary AB T2G 3J4 403 451-0327 Toll-Free: 877 869-7212 sales@blacklinegps.com

www.blacklinesafety.com VP-Industrial Sls Greg Rude Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) 100-6700 Century Ave Mississauga ON L5N 6A4 905 567-7198 Fax: 905 567-7191 Toll-Free: 888 279-2777 info@bcrsp.ca www.bcrsp.ca Mktg Coord/Commun Coord Arlene Duval BodyLogic Health Management Inc. Box 91758 West Vancouver BC V7V 4S1 Toll-Free: 800 887-8018 info@backlogic.com www.backlogic.com Bradley Corporation W142 N9101 Fountain Blvd Menomonee Falls WI 53051 262 251-6000 Fax: 262 251-5817 Toll-Free: 800 272-3539 info@bradleycorp.com www.bradleycorp.com Mktg Mgr Kris Alderson Brady Canada 50 Vogell Rd Units 3 & 4 Richmond Hill ON L4B 3K6 905 764-1717 Fax: 905 764-3670 Toll-Free: 800 263-6179 Toll-Free Fax: 800 387-4935 www.bradycanada.ca Mktg/Commun Mgr Melanie Toulmin British Columbia Institute of Technology 3700 Willingdon Ave Burnaby BC V5G 3H2 604 432-8220 Fax: 604 432-8988 Toll-Free: 800 663-6542 Ext. 8220 www.bcit.ca/study/programs/6850cert Prog Dir David Wood Bullard 1898 Safety Way Cynthiana KY 40514 Fax: 859 234-6858 Toll-Free: 877 285-5273 Toll-Free Fax: 800 877-6858 info@bullard.com www.bullard.com Mktg/Commun Mgr Deborah Puracchio

BW Technologies by Honeywell 2840 2 Ave SE Calgary AB T2A 7X9 403 248-9226 Fax: 403 273-3708 Toll-Free: 800 663-4164

bwt@gasmonitors.com www.gasmonitors.com Mktg Spec Denise Legato

membership@csse.org www.csse.org Asst Exec Dir Perry Ruehlen

Can U Rescue?

155 Chudleigh St Waterdown ON L0R 2H6 905 515-0874 sheila@canurescue.com www.canurescue.com Owner Sheila Grady

Cannon Hygiene Canada Ltd. N-9620 rue Ignace Brossard QC J4Y 2R4 450 444-5152 Fax: 450 444-1778 Toll-Free: 800 643-6922 montreal@cannonservices.ca www.cannonservices.ca Dir Gen Jean-Francois Hugron

Canadian Association of Optometrists 234 Argyle Ave Ottawa ON K2P 1B9 613 235-7924 Ext. 215 Fax: 613 235-2098 Toll-Free: 888 263-4676 Ext. 215 ovp@opto.ca www.opto.ca Dir Douglas Dean Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) 135 Hunter St E Hamilton ON L8N 1M5 905 572-2981 Fax: 905 572-2206 Toll-Free: 800 668-4284 clientservices@ccohs.ca www.ccohs.ca

Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News 80 Valleybrook Dr North York ON M3B 2S9 416 510-6893 Fax: 416 510-5140 jcontant@ohscanada.com www.ohscanada.com Editor Jason Contant Canadian Red Cross 300-170 Metcalfe St Ottawa ON K2P 2P2 613 740-1900 Fax: 613 740-1911 Toll-Free: 877 356-3226 nan@redcross.ca www.redcross.ca/workplacefirstaid Mktg/Bus Mgr Carolyn Tees

CanSafe-SafetyZone – Div. of SafetyZone (Canada)ULC PO Box 263 Fergus ON N1M 2W8 Location: 525 Glengarry Cres 519 787-1297 Toll-Free: 800 267-1611 Toll-Free Fax: 800 669-2392 sales@cansafe.com www.cansafe.com Capital Safety 260 Export Blvd Mississauga ON L5S 1Y9 905 795-9333 Toll-Free: 800 387-7484 Toll-Free Fax: 888 387-7484 info.ca@capitalsafety.com www.capitalsafety.com Capital Vocational Specialists Corp 304-2781 Lancaster Rd Ottawa ON K1B 1A7 613 736-9117 Fax: 613 736-9771 Toll-Free: 888 736-9117 information@cvs.ca www.cvs.ca Carhartt 5750 Mercury Dr Dearborn MI 48126 Fax: 313 271-6301 Toll-Free: 800 769-7052 industrial_sales@carhartt.com www.carhartt.com Tech Sls Assoc Michele Petrin

Canadian Safety Equipment Inc. 114-2465 Cawthra Rd Mississauga ON L5A 3P2 905 949-2741 Fax: 905 272-1866 Toll-Free: 800 265-0182 info@cdnsafety.com www.cdnsafety.com

Carswell, a Thomson Reuters Business 2075 Kennedy Rd Scarborough ON M1T 3V4 416 609-3800 Toll-Free: 800 387-5164 Toll-Free Fax: 877 750-9041 www.carswell.com Mktg Mgr Joanne Gordon

Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) 39 River St Toronto ON M5A 3P1 416 646-1600 Fax: 416 646-9460 Toll-Free: 877 446-2674

Cartier Chemicals Ltd. 2610A boul J.B. Deschamps Lachine QC H8T 1C8 514 637-4631 Fax: 514 637-8804 Toll-Free: 800 361-9432 info@vytac.com

www.ohscanada.com

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www.cartierchem.com Pres/Mgr-VYTAC Div Bill Robins CD Nova Ltd. 5330 Imperial St Burnaby BC V5J 1E6 604 430-5612 Fax: 604 437-1036 Toll-Free: 800 663-0615 sales@cdnova.com www.cdnova.com CEA Instruments, Inc. 160 Tillman St Westwood NJ 07675 201 967-5660 Fax: 201 967-8450 Toll-Free: 888 893-9640 ceainstr@aol.com www.ceainstr.com VP-Sls/Mktg Steven Adelman Cederroth AB PO Box 715 SE-19427 Upplands Väsby Sweden Location: Kanalvägen 10A Upplands Väsby Sweden +46 8590 96300 Fax: +46 8590 30953 firstaid@cederroth.com www.firstaid.cederroth.com Rep Bertil Hedlund Chairs Limited 7-10 Ilsley Ave Dartmouth NS B3B 1L3 902 468-2854 Fax: 902 468-1269 Toll-Free: 800 565-2854 info@chairslimited.com www.chairslimited.com Pres Joan Downing CHUMS Inc. 2424 South 2570 West Salt Lake City UT 84119 801 972-5656 Fax: 801 972-5690 Toll-Free: 800 822-2486 safety@chums.com www.chumssafety.com Sls Mgr Travis Mehn Clean Harbors Environmental Services 4090 Telfer Rd RR1 Corunna ON N0N 1G0 519 864-1021 Fax: 519 864-3865 Toll-Free: 800 485-6695 customerservice@cleanharbors.com www.cleanharbors.com CoCoSafe 1330 S Estate Springfield MO 65804 Toll-Free: 877 922-7233 Toll-Free Fax: 866 869-8108 inquiries@cocosafe.com www.cocosafe.com Collins Safety Inc. 648 Progress Ave

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Kingston ON K7M 4W9 613 389-9886; 514 526-7931 Ext. 232.

Fax: 613 389-9943 info@collins.ca www.collins.ca Ops Mgr Robert McCallum Concept Controls Inc. 1-2315 30th Ave NE Calgary AB T2E 7C7 403 208-1065 Fax: 403 250-1011 Toll-Free: 888 207-2212 sales@conceptcontrols.com www.conceptcontrols.com Continental Fan Canada Inc. 12-205 Matheson Blvd E Mississauga ON L4Z 3E3 905 890-6192 Fax: 905 890-6193 Toll-Free: 800 779-4021 cfm@continentalfan.com www.continentalfan.com CorWil Technologies Ltd. 203-1449 St Paul St Kelowna BC V1Y 2E4 778 478-9857 powell@cwt-ltd.ca www.cwt-ltd.ca Sr Proj Technologist Powell Maxfield Crisis Prevention Institute 600-10850 West Park Pl Milwaukee WI 53224 Fax: 262 979-7162 Toll-Free: 800 558-8976 info@crisisprevention.com www.crisisprevention.com Critical Environment Technologies Canada Inc. 145-7391 Vantage Way Delta BC V4G 1M3 604 940-8741 Fax: 604 940-8745 Toll-Free: 877 940-8741 marketing@cetci.com www.critical-environment.com Gen Mgr Frank Britton Danatec Educational Services Ltd. 201-11450 29 St SE Calgary AB T2Z 3V5 403 232-6950 Fax: 403 232-6952 Toll-Free: 800 465-3366 info@danatec.com www.danatec.com Bus Dev Alina Martin Deb Canada 42 Thompson Rd W Waterford ON N0E 1Y0 519 443-8697 Fax: 519 443-5160 Toll-Free: 888 332-7627 Toll-Free Fax: 800 567-1652 debcanada@debcanada.com www.debgroup.com Debolt Data Depository

10818 Jasper Ave Box 35046, Midtown Post Office Edmonton AB T5J 0B7 780 428-4992 Fax: 780 633-4025 www.deboltdata.com Sls Mgr Paul J Cachia Dell Tech Laboratories Ltd. 220-100 Collip Cir London ON N6G 4X8 519 858-5021 Fax: 519 858-5026 delltech@delltech.com www.delltech.com Pres Stephen Chambers

Specializing in safety solutions

Dentec Safety Specialists, Inc. 100 Harry Walker Pkwy N Newmarket ON L3Y 7B2 905 953-9946 Fax: 905 953-8351 Toll-Free: 888 533-6832 Toll-Free Fax: 888 953-9946 dentec@dentecsafety.com www.dentecsafety.com Pres Claudio Dente DEVTRA Inc. – The “CHECKER” PO Box 265 Oakville ON L6K 0A4 Location: 146 Lakeshore Rd W 905 825-0172 Fax: 905 469-8831 Toll-Free: 800 291-4719 info@thechecker.net www.thechecker.net Gen Mgr David Lefevre DPA Communications Corp.

PO Box 45033 Toronto ON M4P 3E3 416 205-9604 info@dpac.com www.dpac.com Pres Jane England

Draeger Safety Canada Ltd. 1-2425 Skymark Ave Mississauga ON L4W 4Y6 905 212-6000 Toll-Free Fax: 877 651-0906 lynn.scharfe@draeger.com www.draeger.ca

DuPont Personal Protection PO Box 2200 Streetsville Mississauga ON L5M 2H3 Location: 1919 Minnesota Crt Mississauga ON L5N 0C9 Fax: 905 816-3062 Toll-Free: 800 387-2122 information@dupont.com

www.personalprotection.dupont.ca Mktg/Bus Support Heather Jordan Dynamic Research Company, Inc. 300-4800 Meadows Rd Lake Oswego OR 97035 503 699-1335 Fax: 503 699-1094 Toll-Free: 800 876-2232 info@saf-t-step.com www.dynamicresearchcompany.com Pres Dale Burson E.K. Gillin & Associates Inc. 362-356 Ontario St Stratford ON N5A 7X6 519 662-3819 Fax: 519 662-6595 Toll-Free: 888 771-6754 ekginc@ekginc.com www.ekginc.com Pres Patrick Smale E-Training Inc. 101 – 2314 South Route 59 Plainfield IL 60586 815 556-9384 Ext. 2 Fax: 815 531-1075 info@etraintoday.com www.etraintoday.com Pres Niall O’Malley Eckel Industries of Canada Ltd. PO Box 776 Morrisburg ON K0C 1X0 Location: 15 Allison Ave 613 543-2967 Fax: 613 543-4173 Toll-Free: 800 563-3574 eckel@eckel.ca www.eckel.ca EcoLog Legislation and EcoLog Legislative Tracker 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto ON M3B 2S9 416 442-5600 Ext. 3570 Fax: 416 510-5128 Toll-Free: 888 702-1111 Ext. 8 llubka@ecolog.com www.ecolog.com Sls Rep Dan Bond EcoLog News 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto ON M3B 2S9 416 442-5600 Ext. 3570 Fax: 416 510-5128 Toll-Free: 888 702-1111 Ext. 8 llubka@ecolog.com www.ecolog.com Sls Rep Dan Bond Electro-Medical Instrument Co. 1-2359 Royal Windsor Dr Mississauga ON L5J 4S9 905 822-3188 Fax: 905 822-9920 Toll-Free: 800 263-6430 emi-canada@bellnet.ca www.emi-canada.com Cust Support/Serv Mgr Rick Cameron

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 Electrolab Training Systems PO Box 320 Belleville ON K8N 5A5 Location: 335 University Ave Belleville ON K8N 5T7 613 962-9577 Fax: 613 962-0284 Toll-Free: 800 267-7482 safety@electrolab.ca www.electrolab.ca Elite Training Company 102 Rawling Cres Brampton ON L6Z 1N8 905 846-5509 info@elite-training.ca www.elite-training.ca Encon Safety Products 6825 W Sam Houston Pky N Houston TX 77041 713 466-1449 Fax: 713 466-1819 Toll-Free: 800 283-6266 customerservice@enconsafety.com www.enconsafety.com Mktg Mgr Jenna Villarreal Enmet Canada Ltd. – Div. of Arjay Engineering 2851 Brighton Rd Oakville ON L6H 6C9 905 829-2418 Fax: 905 829-4701 Toll-Free: 800 387-9487 arjay@arjayeng.com www.arjayeng.com Mgr Greg Reeves ErgoCanada – Ergonomics Portal of Micwil Group of Companies Ltd. PO Box 9022 Saskatoon SK S7K 7E7 Location: 102 Wheeler St Saskatoon SK S7P 0A9 306 382-5995 Fax: 306 382-4995 Toll-Free: 866 335-3746 sales@ergocanada.com www.ergocanada.com Owner Michael Craggs Ergomat Canada Inc. 70-3330 2e rue Saint-Hubert QC J3Y 8Y7 450 462-3201 Toll-Free: 877 374-6628 Toll-Free Fax: 800 357-2113 info@ergomat.com www.ergomat.com ErgonoWorks Unlimited, Inc. 97 Major Button’s Dr Markham ON L3P 3X4 905 472-4996 Fax: 905 472-1879 Toll-Free: 800 429-5978 ergonoworks@rogers.com www.ergonoworks.com Owner/Dir Janice E Ray

ERIS Ltd. 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto ON M3B 2T5 416 510-5204 Fax: 416 510-5133 Toll-Free: 866 517-5204 Toll-Free Fax: 866 251-8611 info@erisinfo.com www.erisinfo.com Dir-Sls/Bus Dev Mark Mattei THE FIRST ENVIRONMENTAL RISK INFORMATION SERVICES PROVIDER FOR ALL OF NORTH AMERICA. Environmental Risk Information Services (ERIS) is the first company to provide comprehensive data to assess environmental risk for properties throughout all of North America. Now serving Canada and the US, ERIS is the leading source of current and historical property information in both jurisdictions, meeting criteria set by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Since 1999, ERIS has delivered accurate, affordable, on-demand database research services, and now wants to serve you. Whether you are doing a Phase I, Phase II, a remediation assessment, financial perspective, evaluating insurance risk or legal due diligence, the ERIS service is an invaluable resource to assist you in assessing environmental risk of any property nationwide. Browse our site, learn about the different reports we offer, and discover how ERIS can best serve you! For more information visit our website: www.eris.ca.

Exair Corporation 11510 Goldcoast Dr Cincinnati OH 45249-1621 513 671-3322 Fax: 513 671-3363 Toll-Free: 800 903-9247 techelp@exair.com www.exair.com

F.O. Safety Eyewear Inc. 200-1916 Dewdney Ave Regina SK S4R 1G9 403 527-3661 Fax: 403 580-8190 Toll-Free: 855 527-3661 ckessler.fosafetyeyewear@shaw.ca www.fosafetyeyewear.ca VP-Bus Dev Charlotte Kessler Foot-Cares 4998A Sixth Line Acton ON L7J 2L8 647 236-2256 Toll-Free: 800 663-2550 michael@foot-cares.com www.foot-cares.com Pres Michael T Glogowski

Forestry Suppliers Inc. PO Box 8397 Jackson MS 39284-8397 Location: 205 W Rankin St Jackson MS 39201-6126 601 354-3565 Fax: 601 355-5126 Toll-Free: 800 647-6450 Toll-Free Fax: 800 543-4203 int@forestry-suppliers.com www.forestry-suppliers.com Supvr Charlie Rogers Fournier Health Management Solutions Barrie ON L4M 7B9 647 558-5302 info@fournierhealth.com www.fournierhealth.com Dir Lucie Fournier FoxFury Lighting Solutions 2091 Elevado Hills Dr Vista CA 92084 760 945-4231 Fax: 760 758-6283 fox@foxfury.com www.foxfury.com Dir-Ops Andrea Cugini FSEAP 1005-2 Carlton St Toronto ON M5B 1J3 416 585-9985 Fax: 416 642-1902 Toll-Free: 888 765-8464 info@fseap.com www.fseap.com The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education 297 Victoria St Toronto ON M5B 1W1 416 979-5035 Fax: 416 979-5277 ce@ryerson.ca www.ryerson.ca/ce Gas Measurement Instruments Ltd. Inchinnan Business Park Renfrew PA4 9RG Scotland +44 141 812 3211 Fax: +44 141 812 7820 canadian.sales@gmiuk.com www.gmiuk.com Mktg Coord Jane McLeod GMI, an IST company is a world leader in the design and manufacture of high quality and innovative portable and fixed gas detection equipment, specifically designed for use in the most demanding industrial environments within the oil and gas, chemical and shipping industries worldwide. GMI continues to invest heavily in research and development, a high percentage of which is spent on the development of state of the art instruments and new sensing technologies.

Gateway Safety, Inc. 11111 Memphis Ave Cleveland OH 44144 216 889-2000 Fax: 216 889-1200

Toll-Free: 800 822-5347 info@gatewaysafety.com www.gatewaysafety.com Matthew J Love GENEQ Inc. 10700 rue Secant Montréal QC H1J 1S5 514 354-2511 Fax: 514 354-6948 Toll-Free: 800 463-4363 info@geneq.com www.geneq.com Pres Maurice Parisé GfG Instrumentation, Inc. 20 – 1194 Oak Valley Dr Ann Arbor MI 48108 734 769-0573 Fax: 734 769-1888 Toll-Free: 800 959-0329 info@gfg-inc.com www.goodforgas.com Mktg Mgr Paula Shovels

Glove Guard LP PO Box 946 Highlands TX 77562 Location: 1625 E Houston St 281 426-2714 Fax: 281 426-6135 Toll-Free: 888 660-6133 safety@gloveguard.com www.gloveguard.com Office Mgr Linda Hanks

Grace Industries, Inc. 305 Bend Hill Rd Fredonia PA 16124 724 962-9231 Fax: 724 962-3611 Toll-Free: 800 969-6933 info@graceindustries.com www.graceindustries.com Sls Mgr Dan Smith Graywolf Sensing Solutions 6 Research Dr Shelton CT 06484 203 402-0477 Fax: 203 402-0478 Toll-Free: 800 218-7997 salesteam@graywolfsensing.com www.graywolfsensing.com Sales Admin Cassandra Rivera Great Lakes Safety Products Inc. 3303 Walker Rd Windsor ON N8W 3R9 519 972-6605 Fax: 519 972-6620 sales@glspi.com www.glspi.com Pres/Owner Thomas Diemer

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Green Extreme Outdoors Ltd. 105-120 Bow Meadows Cres Canmore AB T1W 2W8 403 609-0501 Fax: 403 609-0502 Toll-Free: 866 473-3639 Toll-Free Fax: 866 371-6389 professional@buffcanada.com www.professional.buffcanada.com

www.thecompliancecenter.com Project Mgr Jason Li; Bus Dev Mgr Greg Monette Industrial Scientific Corp.

140-120 Pembina Rd Sherwood Park AB T8H 0M2 780 467-2423 Fax: 780 467-2105 Toll-Free: 800 338-3287 info@indsci.com www.indsci.com

Haws Corporation 1455 Kleppe Ln Sparks NV 89431 775 359-4712 Fax: 775 359-7424 Toll-Free: 888 640-4297 info@hawsco.com www.hawsco.com Prod Mgr Margo Mee

Innovative Fall Protection 218 Initiative Ave SE Calgary AB T3S 0B7 403 257-1833 Fax: 403 257-7467 Toll-Free: 866 257-2888 info@innovativefallprotection.com www.innovativefallprotection.com

HazMat Management Magazine 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto ON M3B 2S9 416 510-6798 Fax: 416 510-5133 Toll-Free: 888 702-1111 bobrien@hazmatmag.com www.hazmatmag.com Pub Brad O’Brien

International Safety Equipment Association 1901 N Moore St Arlington VA 22209 703 525-1695 Fax: 703 528-2148 isea@safetyequipment.org www.safetyequipment.org Pres Daniel K Shipp

Health Systems Group 51 Tannery St Mississauga ON L5M 1V3 905 858-0333 Fax: 905 858-3136 Toll-Free: 888 809-0333 service@healthsystemsgroup.com www.healthsystemsgroup.com Pres Kim Snider Honeywell Safety Products 900 Douglas Pike Smithfield RI 02917 Toll-Free: 800 873-5242 www.honeywellsafety.com Howard Leight by Honeywell 7828 Waterville Rd San Diego CA 92154 Fax: 401 232-3110 Toll-Free: 800 430-5490 hearingconservation@howardleight.com www.howardleight.com Human Factors North Inc. 202-174 Spadina Ave Toronto ON M5T 2C2 416 596-1252 Fax: 416 596-6946 hfn@hfn.ca www.hfn.ca Accnt/Office Mgr Deanna Cyr ICC The Compliance Center Inc. 7-205 Matheson Blvd E Mississauga ON L4Z 1X8 905 890-7228 Fax: 905 890-7070 Toll-Free: 888 977-4834 Toll-Free Fax: 866 821-0735 sales@thecompliancecenter.com

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International Sew-Right Co. 6190 Don Murie St Niagara Falls ON L2E 6X8 905 374-3600 Fax: 905 374-6121 intsewright@safetyclothing.com www.safetyclothingcanada.com International Sew Right has been manufacturing since 1983 safety clothing, PPE, Arc Flash, High heat, welders clothing, tarps, parkas, sleeves, aprons, shopcoats, head protection, gloves, neck guards and more.

We custom design to suit your needs with a no minumum order. International Sew ships internationally as per your specifications.

Internet Based Learning Ltd. 687 Whitehaven Cres London ON N6G 4V6 519 850-9892 Fax: 519 850-2254 info@ibl.ca www.whmis.net Dir-Sls/Mktg Paul Williams J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. PO Box 368 Neenah WI 54957-0368 Location: 3003 Breezewood Ln Neenah WI 54956 920 722-2848 Toll-Free: 800 327-6868 Toll-Free Fax: 800 727-7516 sales@jjkeller.com www.jjkeller.com/jjk Mktg Dev Mgr Stephanie Hallman

Jenalex Inc. – Ergonomic Products 1711-3230 Yonge St Toronto ON M4N 3P6 416 485-9487 Toll-Free: 800 536-2539 www.jenalex.ca Pres Hans Lofgreen

L.P. Royer Inc. 712 rue Principale Lac-Drolet QC G0Y 1C0 819 549-2100 Fax: 819 549-2584 Toll-Free: 800 567-7693 client@royer.com www.royer.com

Justrite Mfg. Co., L.L.C. 300 – 2454 Dempster St Des Plaines IL 60016 847 298-9250 Fax: 847 298-9261 Toll-Free: 800 798-9250 Toll-Free Fax: 800 488-5877 justrite@justritemfg.com www.justritemfg.com

Lakeland Protective Wear, Inc. 59 Bury Crt Brantford ON N3S 0A9 519 757-0700 Fax: 519 757-0799 Toll-Free: 800 489-9131 sales-canada@lakeland.com www.lakeland.com

K-Sun Corporation PO Box 309 Somerset WI 54025 Location: 370 SMC Dr 715 247-4440 Fax: 715 247-4003 Toll-Free: 800 622-6312 Toll-Free Fax: 800 522-9108 info@ksun.com www.ksun.com Gen Mgr Linda Law Kanomax USA, Inc. 219 US Highway 206 Andover NJ 07821 973 786-6386 Fax: 973 786-7586 Toll-Free: 800 247-8887 info@kanomax-usa.com www.kanomax-usa.com Kimberly-Clark Professional 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd Roswell GA 30076 770 587-8000 Toll-Free: 800 255-6401 Toll-Free Fax: 800 579-3555 kcpinfo@kcc.com www.kc-safety.com Mktg/Commun Mgr Melissa Fike Kit Care Corporation 6358 Viscount Rd Mississauga ON L4V 1H3 416 243-3030 Fax: 416 243-3082 Toll-Free: 800 387-1858 Toll-Free Fax: 866 777-0787 kitcarecorp@kitcarecorp.com www.kitcarecorp.com Pres Gerald J Yaffe KnowledgeWare Communications Corp.

11763 Darby St Maple Ridge BC V2X 5G1 604 380-0040 Fax: 855 898-4690 Toll-Free: 800 893-9333 info@kccsoft.com www.kccsoft.com Pres Ron McNutt

LEHDER Environmental Services Limited 210-704 Mara St Point Edward ON N7V 1X4 519 336-4101 Fax: 519 336-4311 Toll-Free: 877 534-3371 info@lehder.com www.lehder.com Principal Mark Roehler Branch Office: Edmonton, Alberta: 780 462-4099 Fax: 780 462-4392 info@lehder.com.

Levitt-Safety 2872 Bristol Cir Oakville ON L6H 5T5 905 829-3299 Fax: 905 829-2919 Toll-Free: 888 453-8488 csr@levitt-safety.com www.levitt-safety.com Lift Truck Safety Training Centre Inc. PO Box 22004 Edmonton AB T6L 0A1 780 465-5001 Toll-Free: 888 665-5001 www.liftrucksafetytraining.ca Lind Equipment Ltd. 90B Centurian Dr Markham ON L3R 8C4 905 475-5086 Fax: 905 475-4098 info@lindequipment.net www.lindequipment.net Pres Brian Astl

Martor USA 29 – 1235 S Kimps Crt Green Bay WI 54313 920 662-9646 Fax: 920 662-9648 info@martorusa.com www.martorusa.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 Master Lock Canada 2816 Bristol Cir Oakville ON L6H 5S7 905 829-4155 Fax: 905 829-8952 Toll-Free: 800 227-9599 Toll-Free Fax: 855 829-0022 www.masterlock.com Dir-Comm Sls/Mktg John Collins Micwil Group of Companies Ltd. PO Box 9022 Saskatoon SK S7K 7E7 Location: 102 Wheeler St Saskatoon SK S7P 0A9 306 382-5995 Fax: 306 382-4995 Toll-Free: 866 335-3746 sales@ergocanada.com www.ergocanada.com Miller Fall Protection/Honeywell PO Box 271 Franklin PA 16323 Location: 1345 15th St 814 432-2118 Fax: 814 432-2415 Toll-Free: 800 873-5242 Toll-Free Fax: 800 892-4078 hsptechsupport@honeywell.com www.millerfallprotection.com Mister Safety Shoes Inc. 6-2300 Finch Ave W North York ON M9M 2Y3 416 746-3000 Fax: 416 748-8791 info@mistersafetyshoes.com www.mistersafetyshoes.com Owner John Colantonio Moldex-Metric Inc. 10111 W Jefferson Blvd Culver City CA 90232 310 837-6500 Fax: 310 837-9563 Toll-Free: 800 421-0668 sales@moldex.com www.moldex.com Natl Sls Mgr David Schuck; Mktg Mgr Craig Smidt Monarch Regulatory Services Inc. 20 Kings Gate Dundas ON L9H 3Z7 905 628-6631 Fax: 905 628-9252 www.monarchregservices.ca Pres Chrim Middleton, DGPA Mount Vernon FR PO Box 7 Trion GA 30753 Location: 91 Fourth St 706 734-4920 Fax: 706 734-3531 mymfr@mvmills.com www.mvmfr.com

MSA – The Safety Company 222-5535 Eglinton Ave W Toronto ON M9C 5K5 416 620-4225 Toll-Free: 800 672-2222 info@msanet.com www.msanet.com Product Mgr Sean Donovan MST, Inc./Modern Safety Techniques PO Box 87 Hicksville OH 43526-0087 Location: 11370 Breininger Rd 419 542-6645 Fax: 419 542-6475 Toll-Free: 800 542-6646 sales@modsafe.com www.modsafe.com Pres/Owner Charles Martin Mul-T-Mat & Supply Co. 4-106 Rayette Rd Vaughan ON L4K 2G3 905 738-3171 Fax: 905 738-8792 Toll-Free: 800 567-6287 customerservice@mul-t-mat.com www.mul-t-mat.com Cust Serv Mgr Karen Vats Nanofilm 10111 Sweet Valley Dr Valley View OH 44125 216 447-1199 Fax: 216 447-1137 Toll-Free: 888 363-7364 defogit@defogitworks.com www.defogitworks.com Sls Rep Gina Montello

Toll-Free: 800 621-7619 customerservice@nsc.org www.nsc.org Mktg Mgr Heidi Mitchell Niagara Software Ltd. 1205-20 Bay St Toronto ON M5J 2N8 416 366-5212 www.wcbpro.ca Pres Paul Ambos No Skidding Product Inc. 266 Wildcat Rd Toronto ON M3J 2N5 416 667-1788 Fax: 416 667-1783 Toll-Free: 800 375-0571 sales@noskidding.com www.noskidding.com Occupational Safety Group (OSG) 3330 Dingman Dr London ON N6E 3W8 519 850-4000 Fax: 519 850-1020 Toll-Free: 800 815-9980 info@osg.ca www.osg.ca CEO Mark Lisburn Ocenco Incorporated 10225 82nd Ave Pleasant Prairie WI 53158 262 947-9000 Fax: 262 947-9020 ocenco@ocenco.com www.ocenco.com Exec VP Richard Van Derveer

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NASCO Industries, Inc. PO Box 427 Washington IN 47501 Location: 3 N E 21st St 812 254-7393 Fax: 812 254-6476 Toll-Free: 800 767-4288 sales@nascoinc.com www.nascoinc.com Dir-Mktg Andrew Wirts National Institute of Disability Management and Research 4755 Cherry Creek Rd Port Alberni BC V9Y 0A7 778 421-0821 Ext. 201 Fax: 778 421-0823 nidmar@nidmar.ca www.nidmar.ca Asst Exec Dir Joyce Gravelle National Safety Council 1121 Spring Lake Dr Itasca IL 60143-3201 630 285-1121 Fax: 630 285-1315

OHS Canada Media 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto ON M3B 2S9 416 510-5102 Fax: 416 510-5140 pboxer@ohscanada.com www.ohscanada.com Pub Peter Boxer OLFA – North America – Div. of World Kitchen, LLC 9525 W. Bryn Mawr Ave, #300 Rosemont IL 60018 Toll-Free: 800 962-6352 Toll-Free Fax: 866 509-9902 olfainformation@worldkitchen.com www.olfa.com Natl Acct Mgr Philippe Plouffe Optrel Inc. PO Box 1454 East Greewich RI 02810 Location: 35 – 5 Division St 401 398-7240 Fax: 401 398-2740 info_us@optrel.com www.optrel.com VP-Sls Grant Cooper

O’Reilly Health & Safety Consulting Toronto ON M6S 4Z1 416 294-4141 info@ohsconsulting.ca www.ohsconsulting.ca Owner Yvonne O’Reilly Pacesetter Sales & Associates 18 Cardinal Crt McKellar ON P2A 0B4 905 478-8042 Fax: 905 478-8010 clindsay@pacesettersales.com www.pacesettersales.com Pres Craig Lindsay Parker Finite Airtek Filtration – Div. of Parker-Hannifin Corporation 160 Chisholm Dr Milton ON L9T 3G9 905 693-3000 Fax: 905 876-1958 Toll-Free: 888 342-2623 ryan.dorant@parker.com www.parker.com/faf Mktg Mgr Jennifer Fiorello Parsons Canada Ltd. 100-3715 Laird Rd Mississauga ON L5L 0A3 905 820-1210 Fax: 905 820-1221 www.parsons.com Reg Mgr David Kantor Peavey Performance Systems/ Safety Jackpot 10749 W 84th Terrace Lenexa KS 66214 913 888-0600 Fax: 913 495-6757 Toll-Free: 800 235-2495 info@safetyjackpot.com www.safetyjackpot.com Sls Mgr Pat Tracy Pelsue Company 2500 South Tejon St Englewood CO 80110 303 936-7432 Fax: 303 934-5581 Toll-Free: 800 525-8460 sales@pelsue.com www.pelsue.com VP-Sls Christian Miller Pentek, Inc. 1026 Fourth Ave Coraopolis PA 15108 412 262-0725 Fax: 412 262-0731 Toll-Free: 888 873-6835 info@pentekusa.com www.pentekusa.com Sls Rep Tim Benedict Pinchin 2470 Milltower Crt Mississauga ON L5N 7W5 905 363-0678 Fax: 905 363-0681 Toll-Free: 855 746-2446

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info@pinchin.com www.pinchin.com CRM/Events Coord José Barinque ProTELEC checkMate 200-1450 Mountain Ave Winnipeg MB R2X 3C4 204 272-5799 Toll-Free: 866 775-6620 www.proteleccheckmate.com Gen Mgr Rial Black Ranpro Inc. PO Box 430 Simcoe ON N3Y 4L6 Location: 620 Ireland Rd 519 426-1094 Fax: 519 426-5313 Toll-Free: 877 744-0449 Toll-Free Fax: 888 272-6776 ranpro@ranpro.com www.ranpro.com VP-Sls/Mktg Greg Lewis RKI Instruments, Inc. 33248 Central Ave Union City CA 94587-2010 510 441-5656 Fax: 510 441-5650 Toll-Free: 800 754-5165 john@rkiinstruments.com www.rkiinstruments.com Sr Application Engr John Villalovos Ronco Protective Products 267 North Rivermede Rd Concord ON L4K 3N7 905 660-6700 Fax: 905 660-6903 Toll-Free: 877 663-7735 ronco@ronco.ca www.ronco.ca Mktg Mgr Vani Kshattriya Saf Precision Mfg Ltd. 4-1173 Michener Crt Sarnia ON N7S 5G5 519 337-9252 Fax: 519 337-6510 Toll-Free: 888 843-3633 info@flangebar.com www.flangebar.com Ops Mgr Kim Shaw Safety Direct Ltd. P.O. Box 3026 Sherwood Park AB T8H 2T1 Location: 100-2210 Premier Way Sherwood Park AB T8H 2L2 780 464-7139 Fax: 780 464-7652 inquiries@safetydirect.ca www.safetydirect.ca Pres Brett Zeissler SafetySync Corporation 1324 36 Ave NE Calgary AB T2E 8S1 403 668-6402 Toll-Free: 866 668-6402 Toll-Free Fax: 855 321-0003 info@safetysync.com www.safetysync.com

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Santronics, Inc. PO Box 192 Sanford NC 27331 Location: 3010 Lee Ave Sanford NC 27332-6210 919 775-1223 Fax: 919 777-2856 Toll-Free: 800 628-1632 Toll-Free Fax: 800 356-2729 info@santronicsinc.com www.santronicsinc.com Sls Rep Barbara Robinson Sentry Protection Products 3 – 16927 Detroit Ave Lakewood OH 44107 216 228-3200 Fax: 216 228-3214 Toll-Free: 888 265-8660 info@sentrypro.com www.sentrypro.com Pres James Ryan

Showa-Best Glove Mfg. Ltd. 253 rue Michaud Coaticook QC J1A 1A9 819 849-6381 Fax: 819 849-6120 Toll-Free: 800 565-2378 info@showabest.ca www.showabestglove.com SNC-Lavalin Inc. Environment & Water 110-20 Colonnade Rd Ottawa ON K2E 7M6 613 226-2456 Fax: 613 226-9980 environment@snclavalin.com www.snclavalin.com/environment Bus Dev Mgr Austin Sweezey Solid Waste & Recycling Magazine 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto ON M3B 2S9 416 510-6798 Fax: 416 510-5133 Toll-Free: 888 702-1111 Toll-Free Fax: 866 251-8611 bobrien@solidwastemag.com www.solidwastemag.com Pub Brad O’Brien Sonic Soil Sampling Inc. 668 Millway Ave Concord ON L4K 3V2 905 660-0501 Fax: 905 660-7143 Toll-Free: 877 897-6642 Toll-Free Fax: 888 251-7445 sonic@sonicsoil.com www.sonicsoil.com SOS Emergency Response Technologies 126-160 Tycos Dr North York ON M6B 1W8 416 789-7689 Fax: 416 789-5470

Toll-Free: 888 645-8323 info@sostor.com www.sostor.com Special Electronics & Designs Inc./Rescom Sales Inc. 214 Bruce Ave Kincardine ON N2Z 2P3 519 396-8555 Fax: 519 396-4045 Toll-Free: 800 655-2740 sales@rescom.ca www.rescom.ca Prod Spec Corrine France Stonehouse Signs, Inc. PO Box 546 Arvada CO 80001 Location: 5550 West 60th Ave Arvada CO 80003 303 422-2356 Fax: 303 467-1382 Toll-Free: 800 525-0456 Toll-Free Fax: 800 255-0883 sales@stonehousesigns.com www.stonehousesigns.com Mktg Mgr Becky Roche Strider-Resource PO Box 290 Bond Head ON L0G 1B0 Location: 5667 King Rd Nobleton ON L0G 1N0 905 859-3901 Fax: 905 859-4345 service@strider-resource.com www.strider-resource.com Sundstrom Safety Inc. 20 North Blossom St East Providence RI 02914 401 434-7300 Fax: 401 434-8300 Toll-Free: 877 786-3786 lars.ronner@srsafety.com www.srsafety.com

Superior Glove Works Ltd. 36 Vimy St Acton ON L7J 1S1 519 853-1920 Fax: 519 853-4496 Toll-Free: 800 265-7617 sales@superiorglove.com www.superiorglove.com Mktg/Commun Mgr Julie McFater T. Harris Environmental Management Inc. 101-93 Skyway Ave Toronto ON M9W 6N6 416 679-8914 Fax: 416 679-8915 Toll-Free: 888 275-8436 info@tharris.ca www.tharris.ca Pres/CEO C John Fisher

TankTek Environmental Services Ltd. 970 Third Conc Rd Pickering ON L1V 2P8 905 839-4400 Fax: 905 839-6600 Toll-Free: 877 789-6224 inquiries@tanktek.com www.tanktek.com Pres Thomas Burt

Team-1 Academy Inc. 19-760 Pacific Rd Oakville ON L6L 6M5 905 827-0007 Fax: 905 827-0049 brian@team1academy.com www.team1academy.com Ops Mgr Brian Kovalcik TEAM-1 Academy Inc. is an industry leader for the last 20 years. Providing Professional Safety Training, Equipment Sales + Service + Inspections, Consulting, Standby Rescue, Confined Space & Wind Industry Services to Renewable Energy sector, Fortune 500 companies, Industry, Construction, Health Care, Utilities, Fire Services, Police, EMS, Military, Government and numerous others.

For more information please contact Brian Kovalcik at brian@team1academy.com or 905-887-0007 Ext. 22.

Tecgen 201- 3453 Pelham Rd Greenville SC 29615 704 900-8768 Toll-Free: 888 607-8883 info@tecgenfr.com www.tecgen.com Acct Supvr Rachel Kaylor Tek Canada Optical Inc. 127-4096 Meadowbrook Dr London ON N6L 1G4 519 652-8800 Fax: 519 652-5008 Toll-Free: 888 565-5854 sales@tekoptical.com www.tekoptical.com Pres Travis Rowe Tenaquip Ltd. 20701 ch Sainte-Marie Ste-Anne-de-Bellev QC H9X 5X5 Toll-Free: 800 661-2400 info@tenaquip.com www.tenaquip.com Cust Serv Mgr Chris Oliver The Doctor’s Office, MCI-Occupational Health Services 320-1 Yorkdale Rd Toronto ON M6A 3A1 416 440-4040 Fax: 416 440-4014 occhealth@mcimed.com www.mcimed.com

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BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015 The Global Group 1350 Flint Rd Downsview ON M3J 2J7 416 661-3660 Fax: 416 667-0338 Toll-Free: 877 446-2251 www.globaltotaloffice.com Dir-Mktg Nicole Adams The Safety Knife Company 7948 Park Dr St. Louis MO 63117 314 645-3900 Fax: 314 645-0728 sales@safetyknife.us.com www.safetyknife.net/ Dir-Mktg Laura Wissman Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc. 353 Ivyland Rd Warminster PA 18974-2205 215 674-9992 Fax: 215 674-8594 Toll-Free: 877 379-8258 valves@thermomegatech.com www.ThermOmegaTech.com Sls/Mktg Mgr Tom Ruggierio Tractel Ltd. 11020 rue Mirabeau Anjou QC H1J 2S3 514 493-3332 Fax: 514 493-3342 Toll-Free: 800 561-3229 griphoist.canada@tractel.com www.tractel.com Trillium International (Derma Defense Ltd.) PO Box 80932 Burnaby BC V5H 4K1 Toll-Free: 888 801-8488 trilliuminternational@telus.net www.dermadefense.com

Tritech Fall Protection Systems Ltd. 3610 Manchester Rd SE Calgary AB T2G 3Z5 403 287-1499 Ext. 118 Fax: 403 287-0818 Toll-Free: 877 287-0808 Ext. 118 ruchi@tritechfallprotection.com www.tritechfallprotection.com Terr Mgr Ruchi Ryley Trusty Step International 271 Western Ave Lynn MA 01904 781 593-9800 Fax: 781 598-4937 Toll-Free: 800 323-0047 safety@trusty-step.com www.trusty-step.com Pres Stan Handman Unique Products Inc. 16865 110 Ave Edmonton AB T5P 1G8 780 974-7039 Fax: 780 444-0807 Toll-Free: 780 974-7039 Toll-Free Fax: 780 444-0807 upi@shaw.ca www.e-zeelockouts.com Owner Pat Hanlon United Air Specialists, Inc. 4440 Creek Rd Cincinnati OH 45242 513 891-0400 Fax: 513 891-4171 Toll-Free: 800 252-4647 info@uasinc.com www.uasinc.com Sls Mgr Bill Sovik University of New Brunswick 10 McKay Dr Room 251 Moncton NB E1A 3N3

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506 453-4694 Fax: 506 447-3169 Toll-Free: 888 259-4222 www.unb.ca/cel/unbohs Recruitment/Mktg Lead Deborah Brideau Uvex by Honeywell 10 Thurber Blvd Smithfield RI 02917 800 682-0839 Fax: 401 232-0547 hspleads@honeywell.com www.uvex.us Veolia ES Canada Services Industriels Inc. 1705 3e Av Montréal QC H1B 5M9 514 645-1621 Fax: 514 645-5133 Toll-Free: 888 778-6699 ca.mkg.info-veolia.all.groups@veolia.com www.Veoliase.com VF Imagewear Canada, Inc. 9146 Yellowhead Trail NW Edmonton AB T5B 1G2 780 479-4444 Ext. 0 Fax: 780 477-1718 Toll-Free: 800 667-0700 Ext. 0 Toll-Free Fax: 866 419-1110 kendra_derbyshire@vfc.com www.bulwark.com Dir-Sls/Mktg Tim LeMessurier Watson Gloves 7955 North Fraser Way Burnaby BC V5J 0A4 604 874-1105 Fax: 604 875-9009 Toll-Free: 800 663-9509 sales@watsongloves.com www.watsongloves.com Mktg Mgr Michele Moore Wayne Safety Inc. 1250 Sheppard Ave W Toronto ON M3K 2A6 416 661-1100 Fax: 416 661-3447 Toll-Free: 800 387-3713 toronto@waynesafety.com www.waynesafety.com Mgr Aaron Nisker WESA Inc. PO Box 430 Carp ON K0A 1L0 Location: 3108 Carp Rd 613 839-3053 Fax: 613 839-5376 wesacarp@wesa.ca www.wesa.ca Principal/Dir-Occ Hyg N Lydia Renton Westlake & Associates Consulting 126 Essex Crt Thunder Bay ON P7A 7P1 807 345-6691 Fax: 807 345-8229 ohslaw@highimpacths.com www.highimpacths.com Eng/Owner Larry Westlake

Winter Walking – A Jordan David Company 400 Babylon Rd Horsham PA 19044 215 441-9595 Fax: 215 441-9642 Toll-Free: 888 667-5477 noslips@winterwalking.com www.winterwalking.com Workplace Safety & Prevention Services 5110 Creekbank Rd Mississauga ON L4W 0A1 905 614-1400 Fax: 905 614-1414 Toll-Free: 877 494-9777 customercare@wsps.ca www.wsps.ca Workplace Safety & Wellness Solutions Vaughan ON L4K 4K7 416 270-3181 Fax: 905 597-0116 info@workplacesafety-ontario.com www.workplacesafety-ontario.com Occup Ther Anna Matrosov Workplace Safety North 690 McKeown Ave North Bay ON P1B 7M2 705 474-7233 Fax: 705 472-5800 Toll-Free: 888 730-7821 info@workplacesafetynorth.ca Workplacesafetynorth.ca

Workrite Uniform Company 701-6711 Mississauga Rd Mississauga ON L5N 2W3 Fax: 803 483-0678 Toll-Free: 800 521-1888 www.workrite.com/canada Commun Spec Ginny S Beauchamp YOW Canada Inc. 1306 Algoma Rd Ottawa ON K1B 3W8 613 688-2845 Fax: 613 248-0711 Toll-Free: 866 688-2845 info@yowcanada.com www.yowcanada.com YOW Canada Inc. provides high quality occupational health and safety training and materials to aid Canadians with safety compliance. Online Training includes WHMIS, Transportation of Dangerous Goods, Fall Protection, and much more.

YOW Canada Inc. – Safety Compliance Made Easy!

Zenith Safety Products 20701 ch Ste-Marie Ste-Anne-de-Bellev QC H9X 5X5 Toll-Free: 866 457-1163 Toll-Free Fax: 866 457-1164 info@zenithsafety.com www.zenithsafety.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE an advertising feature

GOGGLE GUARD The new Goggle Guard™ clip is a fast and convenient way to keep safety goggles securely held to a hard hat. Made from a high quality plastic, the clip snaps to the brim of most hard hats and some bump caps. Goggle Guard™ clip also features a pencil clip.

Customize your clips with a company name, logo, contact information or even your own safety slogan!

Glove Guard 1-888-660-6133 www.gloveguard.com

RELOAD RELAUNCH LIT REVIEW ReLoad™ Self-Retracting Lifeline pushes the limits of traditional SRL design and functionality.

The patented Constant Force braking mechanism replaces traditional friction based shock absorbing commonly used in the industry. Constant Force braking mechanism provides consistent performance in all types of climate and environmental situations you work in.

Visit 3M.ca/Safety

THE HATSCAN HANDI-GUIDE SERIES The leading source of expertise on occupational health and safety law in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada.

Each title in this series provides quick, reliable access to the law plus the expert insight that helps you interpret the law. Powerful safety tools for you and your employees!

Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business Order your copies today! www.carswell.com Toll free 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto 416-609-3800

Handi- Guide to Alberta’s OH&S Act, Regulation and Code - $35.95 Handi- Guide to British Columbia’s OH&S Regulation - $45.95 Handi-Guide to Saskatchewan’s OH&S Act and Regulations - $36.95 Handi-Guide to Manitoba’s Workplace Safety and Health Act and Regulations - $44.95 Handi-Guide to Atlantic Canada’s Workplace Health and Safety Legislation - $89.95 Handi-Guide to Federal Workplace Health and Safety Legislation - $54.95

LONE WORKERS HAVE JUST BECOME SAFER Concerned about lone worker safety? Grace Industries’ wireless emergency signaling and personal safety monitoring systems locate distressed workers.

Grace Industries offers CSA approved systems which are rugged and intrinsically safe for use in hazardous environments. Our lone worker solutions are affordable and easy to use with no monthly fees.

Grace Industries www.graceindustries.com twitter.com/Graceind1974 724-962-9231 sales@graceindustries.com

WORKRITE EXPANDS DICKIES FR CLOTHING LINE Workrite Uniform Company expanded its popular Dickies® FR clothing line. The line now includes a classic coverall, five shirt styles—including work, knit and snap front — two popular jean styles, three colors of relaxed straight-fit pants, two insulated hooded jackets, and an insulated bib.

Workrite Uniform Company 800-521-1888 www.workrite.com/canada

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3M www.3M.ca/safety For ad see page 64

BCRSP www.bcrsp.ca For ad see page 10

www.ohscanada.com

A D V E R T I S I N G D I R E C T O RY C A N A D A

www.ohscanada. com

Grace Industries

Draeger www.draeger.com For ad see page 43

www.graceindustries.com For ad see page 12

Haws

DuPont www.personalprotection.dupont.ca For ad see page 5

www.hawsco.com For ad see page 63 www.whmis.com For ad see page14

www.optrel.com For ad see page 42

Superior Gloves www.superiorglove.com For ad see page 46

Masterlock www.masterlock.com For ad see page 49

Workrite www.workrite.com/canada For ad see page 2

Martor

ADVERTISING DIRECTORY

BW Technologies by Honeywell www.electrolab.ca For ad see page 51 www.gasmonitors.com For ad see page 39 F.O. Safety www.fosafetyeyewear.ca Carswell For ad see page 44 www.carswell.com For ad see page 9 Glove Guard www.gloveguard.com For ad see page 11

www.nascoinc.com For ad see page 13

Optrel

Internet Based Learning

Electolab

Nasco

www.martorusa.com For ad see page 14

DuPont Personal Protection many safety hazards – one solution provider

How do you select protective clothing and gloves?

Search with the most powerful tool from DuPont 1-800-387-9326 www.SafeSpec.com Copyright © 2012 DuPont. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™ and all products denoted with ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.

So, what’s on your mind?

SEPTEMBER 2014

JULY/AUGUST 2014

Should fighting in professional hockey be banned?

Yes

47%

No

52%

Undecided 1% Total Votes

108

Should injured foreign workers be covered for healthcare after their work permits expire?

Yes 51% No 46% Undecided 3% Total Votes

93

Go on — have your say.

Check out www.ohscanada.com to vote in our latest poll.

www.ohscanada.com

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TIME OUT ALL FIRED UP: Although Canada Day had been over for two weeks, residents of Swift Current, Saskatchewan were blessed with an encore fireworks show, when a truck carrying fireworks went ablaze one evening. A mechanical failure caused fuel to spray over the truck’s engine, and the vehicle exploded as it went under a bridge, sending the fireworks shooting into the sky, The Canadian Press reported on July 17. Fortunately, the driver escaped through the passenger window, unharmed. When firefighters learned that the truck contained explosives, they decided it was safer to sit back and simply let the fire burn out. The show lasted for about 90 minutes — probably long enough to cover next Victoria Day. A BAD SPORT: World Cup fever gripped people around

the globe this summer, but one fan’s soccer passion led to a false alarm that resulted in a high school in Ancaster, Ontario being placed in a “hold-and-secure” situation. Police were called to Ancaster High School during a graduation ceremony on June 23, following reports of a student on the roof carrying a long object in a backpack, believed to be a weapon, the Hamilton Spectator reports. Police searched the roof, but all they found was a World Cup flag, planted by some overenthusiastic soccer nut. The police closed the matter, but they might want to be on the alert when hockey season rolls around.

TRAVEL TUNES: Musically inclined transit riders in Winnipeg can relax — city officials have reworded a proposed bylaw that would have banned singing on buses for safety reasons. The anti-disruption bylaw included a controversial line that prohibited riders from singing or playing musical instruments aboard public buses, the Winnipeg Sun reports.

But an amendment struck the rule down on July 16, after several transit workers attended a council meeting to remind the lawmakers that the bylaw’s purpose was to prevent disruptive behaviour, not to discourage freedom of expression. Great news for everyone, since a $100 fine sounds too punitive for a sing-along of “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round”.

OPEN ARMS: Rock all you want, but not everyone is a

fan of heart-pounding, head-banging music. Veteran band Journey entertained 47,000 people at Quebec City’s Summer Music Festival this year, but at least one guy wanted the 1980s rockers to stop believin’. The 50-something man, who lives across the St. Lawrence River in Levis, was so enraged by how loud the outdoor concert was that he threatened to attack the band with a rifle, the Toronto Sun reported on July 7. He called 9-1-1 and told the responders that he would head over to the concert — armed — if the group did not tone it down.

The police treated the man’s comments as a serious threat and arrested him the following morning.

SNAKE IN THE DRAIN: It could have been a scene right out of Indiana Jones’ worst nightmare. A construction worker in Hueytown, Alabama went for a washroom break on the morning of July 5, when he found a four-foot-long snake coiled in the toilet. According to the Huffington Post, the worker thought it was a sick prank planted by some joker, but did a double-take when he saw the slithery reptile move.

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After his manager called 9-1-1, a police officer lifted the beast out of the can with two batons and released it out into the wild. Danger was averted this time, but one can understand if these workers would rather “hold it in” from now on.

HUMAN CARGO: Drivers on a Pennsylvania roadway

encountered a most unusual obstacle “dead ahead” of them on July 11, after a corpse slipped out of the county coroner’s transport vehicle. The van was moving the body on a gurney through the suburb of Feasterville when one of the doors malfunctioned and opened, dropping the body, the Bucks County Courier Times reports. Fortunately, the driver realized that the cargo had gotten loose and retrieved the corpse before the surreal situation could become even more macabre. It turned out that the aging vehicle was nearly due for retirement: the coroner’s office had been planning to take it out of service later that month due to wear and tear. After this incident, the office did its job and pronounced the van dead.

HEINZ HORRORS: Phobias come in strange forms. A former chef in Milton Keynes, England recently quit his pub job because of a crippling fear — not of oven fires or knives, but of baked beans. The 31-year-old cook has had this rare phobia ever since his brothers threw baked beans at him during his childhood, Britain’s Daily Mirror reported on July 8. The man, who calls the beans “orange devils”, claims he had to hide in a back room while other employees prepared customers’ breakfasts, because the beans made him feel faint and nervous. He has since been hired as a window cleaner, as heights are apparently much less terrifying.

ON THE FLY: It was a court of a different kind when a

flyswatter — not the gavel — ruled the day. A 35-year-old lawyer in Kazakhstan decided that a flyswatter was more effective than the rule of law when he hit a judge with the pestsmacker several times, as he was unhappy with the way the hearing was going, Britain’s Daily Mirror reported on July 18.

The boxing ring got bigger when the lawyer representing the other client punched the lawyer who had started the fight, and the judge joined in the wrestle in robes. A case of courtrelated stress or simply a bunch of lawyers with bad tempers?

The verdict is up in the air, but a court official has confirmed that the flyswatter-brandishing lawyer was barred from practising and faces criminal charges of assault.

THOSE AREN’T CROUTONS: It all started when a

businessman in an upscale establishment in Chengdu, China found a dead cockroach in his salad. An argument ensued between the patron and the server, as the latter insisted that it was perfectly normal to find dead roaches in restaurant dishes. The waitress then stunned the man and several witnesses by picking the roach up from his plate and eating it, British newspaper Metro reported on July 16. The restaurant disciplined the employee, but this disturbing behaviour seems to be a pattern among those who work in the restaurant: in May, a manager reportedly gobbled down a condom found in a customer’s fish, claiming it was calamari.

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

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Introducing the 3M Safety App for your iPad

Creating a

safer world through 3M innovation.

Imagine having the entire 3M Personal Safety catalogue, and all the product information, organized and available on your iPad . Imagine being able to filter through all the options and find the 3M Personal Protective Equipment that’s just right.

Now, you can and it’s free on the App Store. ®

Apple, the Apple logo, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. 3M is a trademark of 3M and The Power to Protect Your World is a service mark of 3M Company, used under license in Canada. © 2014, 3M. All rights reserved. BA-14-18895 1403-00428 E

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