Category Archives: Health & Safety

WorkSafeBC will be engaging stakeholders on the future state of occupational first aid (OFA) curricula in British Columbia early next year, as part of our ongoing commitment to understand how to evolve our service offerings to improve workplace health and safety. We are considering a transition away from developing our own OFA curriculum and encouraging workers and employers to follow the CSA-aligned curriculum produced by provincial and national first aid organizations instead. This is only a preliminary proposal at this point. We want to gather more information through open and transparent consultation with training providers and end-users (workers and employers) before making any decisions. In January, we will be hosting two information sessions for approved training providers and offering an online survey to collect feedback.

We live in unprecedented times. The impact of the global pandemic has forced many of us to adjust to new working environments and conditions. Additional PPE, new procedures, reduced social opportunities with coworkers and remote work settings are creating new stressors that are affecting mental health and personal wellness for many workers across the province. Added layers of upsetting news about recent wildfires, flooding across BC and industry instability are also major contributors to rising stress and anxiety levels and can make it more difficult for us to prevent overwhelming surges of negative emotions. This Safety Alert will review stress information and suggest good practices for managing stress, preventing burnout, avoiding a steady stream of distractions to keep you on track and help foster healthier habits to maintain mental and physical wellbeing.

Victoria police investigators have yet to find evidence suggesting B.C. cabinet minister Katrine Conroy being injured near the legislature Dec. 7 was related to her government role. Conroy, the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, was treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries after being knocked to the ground by an unknown person last week. Conroy was reportedly walking near Ontario and Oswego streets between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. when the incident occurred, police said in a Tuesday update. VicPD detectives are continuing to gather and review video evidence and are still trying to determine whether the incident involved a criminal motive or was somehow an unfortunate accident.

Mounties are not letting up the pressure to identify those involved in a dangerous firearm incident and attempted theft Tuesday (Dec. 7) that saw two logging trucks shot at multiple times near Fort St. James. … On Dec. 7, Fort St James RCMP responded to a report of shots fired … after a pair of suspects attempted to steal some equipment and collided with an empty logging truck in the process. Two men with long guns got out of the vehicle and fired several shots at the logging truck, and a second logging truck that happened to be on the scene. … Police confirm both suspects shot multiple times at the logging trucks, and fled the scene with the firearms. These firearms were later recovered by police. No one was injured as a result of the actions by those involved. The Ford F-350 that the suspects are alleged to have stolen was located abandoned … 

Additional coverage in Prince George Citizen: Pickup linked to Fort St. James gunplay recovered, say RCMP

Katrine Conroy

B.C. Forests Minister Katrine Conroy is recovering from her injuries after an apparent assault in Victoria. In a social media post Wednesday, Premier John Horgan said he is “very upset” Conroy was “knocked to the ground and hurt last night walking home from the Legislature.” She sustained minor injuries. …Victoria Police confirmed it is investigating the incident, which was reported to them on Wednesday. …Victoria Police said anyone with information about the incident should contact the department’s non-emergency line at 250-995-7654 ext. 1.

Richmond, B.C. — As British Columbians begin to repair the damage caused by flooding and landslides, WorkSafeBC is reminding employers and contractors to identify hazards and control the risks that may be present during post-flood recovery. “It’s important that employers and contractors understand there are potential hazards in homes and workplaces after flooding,” says Al Johnson, Head of Prevention Services at WorkSafeBC. “As an employer, you need to conduct a risk assessment to identify the hazards that exist in your workplace and how they may put your workers at risk.” WorkSafeBC states that a systematic risk assessment is about understanding how your workers may be potentially harmed or potentially at risk and implementing reasonable measures to control those risks in the workplace. Johnson points out that the hazards may be different across the province, depending on the regional impacts from the flooding, and the type of work being done.

Six directors have been reappointed to WorkSafeBC’s governance board:

• Baltej Dhillon, professional in the area of law or law enforcement, is reappointed as a director
• Andrea Laurie, worker representative, is reappointed as a director
• Lee Loftus, public interest representative, is reappointed as a director
• Katherine Teschke, public interest representative, is reappointed as a director
• Rebecca Packer, professional providing health-care or rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities, is reappointed as a director 

The WorkSafeBC board of directors serves as steward of WorkSafeBC and the workers’ compensation system and is responsible for approving WorkSafeBC’s compensation, rehabilitation and assessment policies, and occupational health and safety regulations.

One of Vernon’s largest employers will require all staff at its Vernon headquarters to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as staff return to the office in the new year. Tolko Industries spokesperson Chris Downey says the majority of employees working at the lumber company’s Vernon head office are already fully vaccinated. “We recognize that the building is a gathering place inherently designed to facilitate working and meeting together in close proximity. During the pandemic, we have followed the guidance of the provincial health officer, and by requiring employees and contractors to be vaccinated, we continue to align with scientific experts in public health and safety,” he said in an email. “We’ve made this decision based on safety and have returned employees to the office in a phased approach as part of our safety plan.” The plan applies only to staff at the Vernon head office.

WorkSafeBC and the BC Forest Safety Council ran an information session on Forestry Faller Safety on November 24. Below are the links to the session replay and to the resources discussed at the session.

• Information session replay
• Site inspections for manual falling operations: What to expect and how to prepare 

For more helpful resources, visit the manual falling & bucking resources page on worksafebc.com.

Despite rising threats due to climate change, more than half of British Columbians don’t have an emergency kit. Among the least prepared are Metro Vancouver residents, the province’s biggest urban area. …In 60 per cent of outages in the province, the culprit is wind and rain storms hinging trees over transmission lines or knocking them flat across roads.  …This year, an untold number of trees have been weakened by June’s record-breaking heat wave, plus the summer drought conditions across much of eastern Vancouver Island and the B.C. Interior. …Natural Resources Canada’s assessment of future climate concludes the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather are likely to lead to greater interruptions in electricity supply… BC Hydro recommends residents reassess how prepared they are for storms… The utility’s “outage checklist” walks residents through developing a preparedness plan, building an emergency kit and advice on what to do during and after an outage. 

Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical Society (TEAAM) gave a presentation in Campbell River on November 4. The non-profit, medically-directed rescue service, which currently flies out of bases in Squamish, Prince George and Fort St. John is weeks away from getting its Campbell River operation off the ground. President Miles Randell said the remote areas surrounding the city have been on the society’s radar as having a gap in pre-hospital coverage. …“And the Truck Loggers Association said they need us here as well,” he said. …Randell and vice president, Jordan Lawrence both have extensive SAR experience… The organization they created is capable of providing advanced life support, critical care, and medicine, as well as rescue people from hard to reach places. …From the Campbell River base, the service will be able to cover Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and up to Bella Coola.

First responders responded to a helicopter crash near Nanoose Bay Thursday afternoon. BC Emergency Health Services received a call just after 12:30 p.m. Thursday for a helicopter crash near the eastern Vancouver Island community. The helicopter crashed west of Mosaic’s Northwest Bay Operations near Nanoose Bay. …A BC Ambulance ground crew took the injured man to an air ambulance at Mosaic’s yard. He was then airlifted to the hospital. It’s a commercial helicopter owned by Heliqwest Aviation… It’s open for charters for such things as surveying, forest fire suppression and mapping. The company’s director of safety tells CHEK News the pilot “is doing fine” and he suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Students on a school bus in northern Alberta escaped serious injuries Tuesday after some logs impaled the side of the vehicle they were travelling in. A semi-trailer hauling wood was making a turn at the intersection of Highway 18 and Highway 33 in the town of Barrhead, 120 kilometres north of Edmonton, when the logs struck the bus, police said. …The bus was stopped at the intersection when the accident happened, according to a statement posted by the Pembina Hills School Division on its website. RCMP said neither the semi-truck driver nor any of the school bus occupants were injured. The school division later said one student was taken to hospital as a precaution. …The semi-truck’s driver faces charges for the vehicle being overweight and improperly loaded, said an RCMP spokesperson.

British Columbians are urged to take steps to stop carbon monoxide buildup, which has caused more than 150 deaths in B.C. since 2008. Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas, known as “the silent killer.” It is produced when fuel, such as propane, gasoline, natural gas, heating oil or wood, doesn’t burn completely in fuel-burning appliances and devices. …“We saw several tragic deaths in 2020 due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Don’t wait until it’s too late – keep your family and friends safe by learning about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and how to prevent it,” said Jennifer Rice, Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness. …During Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, Nov. 1-7, fire departments, educators, government, and industry are working together to raise awareness among British Columbians about the potential dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, the symptoms, sources and prevention methods.

Ontario is also reminding residents about the importance of keeping safe and preventing the “silent killer” in homes – Ontarion Marks Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week

Our new exposure limit search tool, E-Limit, provides information about B.C. exposure limits in a searchable and easy-to-read format on your mobile device or computer. You can use it to see key information related to exposure limits in one central location, including:

• Chemical name and CAS number
• B.C. exposure limits
• Associated health hazard notations and designations referenced in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
• Key regulatory requirements
• Definitions to terminology associated with exposure limits

Access the E-Limit tool or learn more about it on our Exposure Limits page.

On September 23, the TLA proudly donated $10,000 to the Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical Society (TEAAM) to assist in establishing the TEAAM4 base in Campbell River. The funds will be directed towards capital equipment purchases for first aid equipment. The TLA has long recognized and lobbied government for the need of helicopter emergency medical services to bring medically directed rescue to attend to forestry workers in remote and difficult to respond to areas on Vancouver Island. The Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical Society (TEAAM) is an advanced life support helicopter emergency medical services non-profit that responds to remote, austere wilderness and industrial settings outside of the scope and capability of the British Columbia Ambulance Service.  TEAAM is comprised of advanced and primary care paramedics, emergency physicians, nurses, technical rescue specialists and other mountain professionals dedicated to providing leading edge pre-hospital care and transport in austere settings.

A logging truck driver was lucky to escape injury-free after their vehicle plunged into the Elk River outside Fernie on Monday (Oct. 18). At 5:49 pm on Monday evening, emergency services were called to Kubinec Road to the south of Fernie, where the fully-loaded eastbound truck had veered off the Crowsnest Hwy, down the river bank and into the waters of the Elk River. The driver, who was the only person involved in the incident, was not injured (but did get wet) and was able to escape from the cabin of the vehicle, which became almost fully submerged in the water. No other vehicles were involved.

Judy Village

A new occupational health and safety representative, Judy Village, has been appointed to WorkSafeBC’s board of directors for a two-year term. Village brings a strong background in ergonomics research, policy and education to the role. She is a certified professional ergonomist and has 40 years of experience consulting, teaching and conducting research in occupational health and safety, with a focus on the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries. Village founded her firm Judy Village & Associates in 1997. She has served as president of the Association of Canadian Ergonomists and as a board member of the Canadian College for the Certification of Professional Ergonomists. She has also been a member of numerous Canadian Standards Association committees that advanced occupational health and safety standards.

One person has died after a helicopter crashed into the ocean Monday on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, according to the RCMP.  Officials confirmed the helicopter went down around 2 p.m. PT in the area near Killam Bay, at the entrance to Jervis Inlet, around 40 kilometres north of Sechelt, B.C.  “Witnesses in the area were the first on scene and some debris of the helicopter was located, but the lone occupant and pilot was not,” read a statement from RCMP on Tuesday.  “A search was conducted in the area without success.”  The aircraft was being used for heli-logging, according to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).  A TSB spokesperson said the agency was “gathering information” on the crash and has deployed investigators.   “We are awaiting further information from first responders,” Chris Krepski said in an interview Tuesday.