Canadian Occupational Safety introduces the new Video Library, adding to its roster of quality online content. Through the Video Library, readers can browse through our professionally created and well-edited collection of quality videos of news and events within the health and safety community.

Provisions for the prevention of workplace violence will soon be part of the federal occupational health and safety regulation, according to Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.

Blackburn made the announcement at the Canadian launch of the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week in Ottawa on May 5th.

Honeywell International will soon be playing in the personal protective equipment space, after it announced a definitive agreement to acquire Norcross Safety Products.

John Greer, vice-president of marketing for North Safety, a subsidiary of Norcross, made the announcement at the Health and Safety Canada 2008 trade show, held in Toronto last week.

Seatbelts took awhile to catch on when introduced to the market but have become an acknowledged, life-saving device for drivers. Workers in industrial plants, too, have come to accept safety devices as a necessary part of their routine. In some cases, they use them as automatically as seatbelts.

Despite this progress, why are workers still getting injured or killed by machinery?

On April 28th, B.C. workers and employers pause at Day of Mourning ceremonies throughout the province to remember and honour those who have lost their lives, been injured or made ill on the job.

The BC Forest Safety Council supports this national day of reflection and its members recommit to ensuring all workers return from work safely everyday to their friends and families.

The province of Ontario has met its goal of reducing workplace injuries by 20 per cent over a four-year period, according to Minister of Labour Brad Duguid, as he addressed thousands of health and safety professionals at the opening ceremony of Health and Safety Canada 2008.

In R. v. Grant Forest Products Inc. and Wabi Development Corporation, the Ontario Court of Justice recently made a pronouncement on the due diligence defence known as “reasonable belief in mistaken facts.” 

Consequently, the defence of reasonable belief in mistaken facts is important for all professionals working in an industry marked by regulatory compliance.