Canada's Safety Minefields  

By: Simon Fridlyand
Canada Gives a Lot of Money to Help Fight Unnecessary Deaths and Injuries Caused by Minefields in Countries Around the World, but Also Investing More at Home in Industrial Health and Safety Could Help to Curtail a Large Number of Unnecessary Deaths and Injuries in the Workplace.

Just imagine that in order to make a living, one needs to cross a minefield, where crossing a mindfield is a daily routine.

There are still many places in the world where this is a reality. For example, in Cambodia, a country located in southeast Asia with about 13 million residents, 834 new landmine casualties were reported in 2002, according to Landmine Monitor. Of these, 145 people were killed and 689 injured. It's terrible, isn't it?

Yet during the same period of time in 2002, there were 934 fatalities and many more injuries, right here in Canada. The difference? These were caused by industrial accidents. I do not want to diminish the severity of the situatiion in countries that must deal with landmines, but when I asked you to imagine that in order to make a living, one needs to cross a minefield, I did not just mean Cambodia. I meant Canada. That's because many of our factories and construction sites are just like minefields.

In Canada, the internal responsibility system is the underlying philosophy of the occupational health and safety legislation in all jurisdictions. Its foundation is that everyone in the workplace -- including employees and employers -- is responsible for his or her own safety and for the safety of co-workers.

An internal responsibility system does the following:

* Establishes responsibility-sharing systems

* Promotes a safety culture

* Promotes best practices

* Helps develop self reliance

* Ensures compliance.

These general provisions give employers the freedom to carry out measures and control procedures that are appropriate for their individual workplaces. On the other hand, the challenge for employers is to know when they have fulfilled all appropriate regulatory requirements.

Regulatory requirements are outlined in Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations. The Act also recognizes that only workers who are adequately informed and empowered can effectively fulfill their responsibilities. It grants three important rights to workers:

* The right to know about workplace hazards, including how to identify hazards and protect themselves from those hazards; and about the rights afforded to workers under the Act.

* The right to participate in decisions related to occupational health and safety, free of reprisal for their participation. Participation, in part, is achieved through consultation with a committee or representative.

* The right to refuse unusually dangerous work.

The right to know about workplace hazards is very important and complicated. One needs to understand what constitutes safe equipment and a safe workplace in order to establish and identify workplace hazards.

Safe equipment means it is compliant to recent and applicable safety standards. One must be familiar with the standards in order to judge whether or not the equipment or workplace is safe.

For example, the latest version of the Canadian Standard for Machine Safety, CAN/CSA 432, talks about control reliability of the safety circuit. The safety circuit may, for example, employ a light curtain that can signal a machine to stop.

However, an average worker will not be able to, by looking at the light curtain, identify whether or not this device is proper for this particular application. Only a quality engineer specializing in this field can determine whether or not it is appropriate.

So, in other words, the right to know should mean the right to get a qualified opinion about workplace hazards. This opinion is usually established through a workplace audit conducted by a multi-disciplined team of qualified engineers.

The Act protects the above rights by prohibiting employers from imposing discipline or other sanctions on workers for fulfilling their responsibilities or exercising their rights. This helps workers participate on a more even footing with employers and supervisors in preventing workplace injuries and illness.

Does an internal responsibility system work? In my opinion, it does -- to a limited extent. But because of the ongoing high number of workplace deaths and injuries each year, obviously more work is needed to identify the 'mines' or 'minefields' in Canadian workplaces.

In 2002, the Canadian government contributed $1 million towards the removal of mines in Cambodia. I think Canadians can afford to contribute even more towards this humanitarian cause. I also think that Canada should also provide financial assistance, say in the form of tax credits, for companies that are trying to get rid of 'mines' and 'minefields' in their workplaces.

Upgrading equipment to current and applicable standards can be costly. However, as you probably know, safety and productivity are two sides of the same coin. Improved safety leads to higher productivity.

Government assistance to improve safety will go a long way to reduce injuries in our workplaces and will also increase Canadian competitiveness in the global marketplace.

It is time to get rid of the 'mines' and 'minefields' in our factories and construction sites. It is time that the Canadian government strongly supported the health and safety of our workers and the competitiveness of our industries.

Please send me your comments by e-mail if you support this point of view.

Simon Fridlyand, P.Eng., is president of S.A.F.E. Engineering, a Toronto-based company specializing in industrial health and safety issues and compliance. He can be reached simonf@safeengineering.ca.

The landmine issue

Globally, it is estimated that there are between 45 million and 50 million landmines in the ground in at least 70 countries. Although they cost as little as $3 to produce, by contrast, it costs between $300 and $1,000 to locate and destroy a single mine, typically a very complex and time-consuming task.

A Mine Ban Treaty entered into force on March 1, 1999, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel landmines, and calls for their destruction.

Want to learn more, or help to eradicate landmines? Visit the Canadian Landmine Foundation at www.canadianlandmine.org or call 416-365-9461.

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