The looming threat of U.S. president Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods is more than just an economic challenge—it’s a direct threat to workplace safety. Across forestry, mining, manufacturing, and oil and gas, industry leaders warn that uncertainty surrounding these tariffs is creating dangerous distractions for workers in high-hazard environments. The result? Increased mental stress, loss of focus, and a heightened risk of workplace incidents. …Mike Parent, president and CEO of Workplace Safety North, says this distraction isn’t just theoretical—it’s already affecting worker morale. In forestry alone, existing tariffs on softwood lumber are squeezing the industry, and an additional 25% tariff could push operating costs to unsustainable levels. “This could just completely decimate the logging sector,” Parent adds. …The stress of economic uncertainty doesn’t just cause momentary lapses in concentration—it contributes to long-term mental health challenges. Anxiety, fatigue, and reduced resilience can lead to burnout, increasing the likelihood of accidents.
I can’t believe it has been over a decade since the Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s (WPAC’s) Safety Committee was established. Our initial focus was combustible dust in response to tragic sawmill explosions in British Columbia. Over the years, activities have expanded to all health and safety matters. The committee’s mission is “to improve the wood pellet industry’s collective safety performance, earn a reputation with regulatory authorities and the public as an industry that is highly effective at managing safety, and learn and share best practices regarding safety.” As we enter 2025, I want to reflect on a few past successes and share our 
At its November 2024 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s 
Here are some highlights from this months Safety News:
A division of a forestry and construction company with an office in Prince George lost a review of an arbitrator’s decision that awarded fallers $4,000 each for breach of privacy. At issue was the installation of dash cameras in the company’s four-wheel drive pickups in Campbell River… They began installing the dash cameras in February 2023, prompting the United Steelworkers, Local 1-1937 (USW) to file a grievance. They stated the purpose for the rear-facing dash camera included “road conditions not seen by the forward-facing camera” and monitoring “distractions in cab – eating, texting, smoking, horseplay.” USW did not take issue with collection of GPS information or video from the forward-facing cameras while the crew bus was in motion. Its grievance was about the audio and video collected by the rear-facing camera and video by the forward-facing camera while the vehicle was idle.
In 2008, BCFSC introduced the Leadership in Safety Awards, celebrating individual safety achievements in forestry. Award recipients are recognized in three categories including safety in harvesting, manufacturing and lifetime achievement. Nominations for leaders in forestry safety can be an individual, crew, team, division, contractor, company, supplier, consultant, trainer, etc. for outstanding safety leadership or achievements. There are three award categories for Leadership Safety. The Cary White Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to someone who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving safety awareness. The Forest Safety Most Valuable Player recognizes an individual or group that has made a notable contribution to forest industry safety within their operation or company. And finally, the Manufacturing Safety Most Valuable Player recognizes an individual or group that has made a notable contribution to wood products manufacturing safety within their operation or company. Deadline for 2025 nominations is September 23, 2025.
While details are minimal to this point, the BC Forest Safety Council is reporting a logging truck driver was killed outside of Logan Lake sometime Monday. According to the Safety Council’s bulletin issued Wednesday, the person was killed December 16th while attempting to “tow a log truck that had spun out on an icy road.” The details on a specific location, as well as the circumstances surrounding the person’s death, have not been detailed. …A separate bulletin issued by the BC Forest Safety Council this week also highlights the dangers that forestry workers face while on the front-lines of felling operations. It points to two separate, non-fatal incidents involving heavy machinery being used in different operations in the Southern Interior this fall, including one near Scotch Creek in the Shuswap. Both involve harvesting in steep-sloped areas.
On December 16th, a log truck driver was fatally injured during an attempt to tow a log truck that had spun out on an icy road. This incident occurred in an area near Logan Lake, BC. WorkSafeBC and the Coroners Service are investigating this incident. We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and our sympathies to all those affected by this incident. This is the second harvesting fatality of 2024… We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and our sympathies to all those affected by this incident.
Firefighters in southern California are battling the Palisades and Eaton Fires. …Residents of many fire-prone areas have grown familiar with the orange, apocalyptic haze of wildfire smoke as these blazes have become more common because of climate change. Such smoke can contain an unpredictable cocktail of chemicals associated with heart and lung diseases and even cancer, which is the leading cause of death among firefighters. Here’s what makes wildfire smoke so dangerous. When trees, shrubbery and other organic matter burn, they release carbon dioxide, water, heat—and, depending on the available fuel, various volatile compounds, gaseous pollutants and particulate matter. Those tiny particles, which become suspended in the air, can include soot (black carbon), metals, dust, and more. If they’re smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, they can evade our body’s natural defenses when inhaled, penetrating deep into the lungs and triggering a wide variety of health problems.
…Endless hours in front of devices are quietly rewriting the blueprint of childhood, reshaping the way that young people think, interact, develop, and experience the world. Young people today spend between 5 and 9 hours staring at screens, but less than 10 minutes a day enjoying time playing in nature. The result? Rising rates of anxiety, body image dissatisfaction, reduced attention spans, waning creativity, and sleepless nights. Brain scans show kids glued to screens experience premature thinning in the prefrontal cortex—the brain’s control centre for impulse control, attention, emotional regulation, and decision-making. …But there is a solution… The antidote is far simpler than reducing screen time. It’s the original technology: nature. …One movement helping to lead this reconnection is the forest school. Forest schools are built on a simple but radical idea: the best classroom doesn’t have walls. Here, nature is a teacher.