Workplace Safety

The Transportation Safety Board says that the capsize of a Nova Scotia fishing boat with the loss of six crewmembers during a gale in December 2020 can be linked to federal inaction on recommended stability standards. Modifications by the vessel’s owners, Yarmouth Sea Products, had raised its centre of gravity but the TSB said in its March 22 report that Transport Canada inspectors had had not told the company about the heightened risk of instability. [node:read-more:link]

Draft changes to Ontario labour law would leave employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits facing stiffer penalties. “One group of workers who are often forgotten are migrant workers,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said March 20. during a press conference on Monday. “My message to those scumbags out there abusing migrant workers is this: you can run, but you can’t hide. We will find you, fine you, and put you behind bars.” [node:read-more:link]

The Treasury Board Secretariat says that the Canadian Human Rights Commission discriminated against its own black and racialized employees. It was responding to a policy grievance filed in October by nine employees’ unions alleging that they and others had faced “systemic” racism, sexism and discrimination. [node:read-more:link]

After the CBC recently included personal information such as sexual orientation and religion in their online human resources, some of the national broadcaster’s employees feel “betrayed.” They say they had provided the information confidentially in response to a voluntary “cultural census.” [node:read-more:link]

A construction company’s former employee has been awarded a total of $295,158 in damages by the Ontario Superior Court against the company and a supervisor who assaulted him. In awarding damages (Docket No. CV-20-0000361), Justice Joseph Di Luca said the claimant had been subjected to some of the worst treatment he had ever encountered, notably an assault requiring surgery. [node:read-more:link]

Quebec Premier François Legault was the target of sometimes violent threats a year ago after he suggested during the pandemic that unvaccinated persons should be subject to a surtax. The threats are outlined in an Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre report which says the threats and online “doxing” of home addresses as parts of a larger an “increasingly violent” trend. [node:read-more:link]

Several major Canadian police associations want to identify the root causes of an “unacceptable wave of violence” after five officers were killed on duty in four months. “We are saying today what we are sure most Canadians are feeling: enough is enough,” the Canadian Police Association, the Police Association of Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police Association and the Toronto Police Association said January 6. Representing some 60,000 personnel, they said “everything will be on the table”, including judicial frameworks and a “growing and chronic” shortage of officers. [node:read-more:link]

A B.C. government investigation has confirmed that an explosion a year ago at Canadian Forces Base Comox on Vancouver Island was due to a civilian heavy equipment operator’s breach of a natural gas line exposed during barracks renovations. Twenty-eight military and civilian personnel suffered minor injuries but the RCAF’s 19 Wing search-and-rescue operations were not affected. [node:read-more:link]

The International Labour Organization, the UN and a global non-profit group say in a new report that an estimated 50 million people were victims of “modern slavery” in 2021, an increase of some 10 million recorded five years earlier. The increases were noted in an array of poorer countries but the data indicated that issues such as forced marriage and labour also were confirmed in wealthier parts of the world. [node:read-more:link]

New requirements imposed by the CRTC mandate the CBC to dedicate at least 30% of its spending on independent English programming to producers who self-identify as Indigenous, official language minorities, visible minorities, disabled or LGBT. This will rise to 35% in 2026. Diversity spending thresholds on CBC’s French side will start at 6.7% in 2023 and scale up to 15% in 2026. [node:read-more:link]

The federal government says it will audit CP Rail’s safety practices and training after the Transportation Safety Board issued a critical report on a February 2019 freight train derailment in British Columbia which killed three crew members [node:read-more:link]

Growing concern about the personal safety of Members of Parliament have prompted parliamentary security to issue MPs with emergency response technology. The decision has been confirmed by Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, himself the target death threats on social media, and follows recent harassment of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh during an Ontario election campaign event. [node:read-more:link]

RCMP say that a “calculated and organized violent attack” on a Coastal GasLink drill site in northern B.C. Feb. 17 “left its victims shaken and a multi-million dollar path of destruction.” The site was attacked by about 20 people, some wielding axes, and the company said that among other things, “an attempt was made to set a vehicle on fire while workers were inside” and flare guns were also fired at workers.” [node:read-more:link]

A Delta Airlines pilot has been awarded $500,000 by a U.S. Labor tribunal that concluded her employer had “weaponized” a discounted psychological assessment which resulted in her being grounded after she reported safety issues. The pilot, Karlene Pettit, has a doctorate in aviation safety. [node:read-more:link]