Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safetyreporter.com
October 2016
WORKER REINSTATED AFTER DISMISSAL
FOR BREACHING SAFETY RULES
Worker resisted wearing PPE all the time;
requirements were inconsistent and unclear pg. 3
MILITARY BASE WORKER FIRED
AFTER AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN
pg. 5
Worker with history of anger issues
wouldn't stop harassing co-worker
CLAIM MADE
11 MONTHS LATER DENIED
Worker reported neck pain months
after injury at work, but there was no
connection between accident and
later onset of symptoms
pg. 6
INSIDE
New MOU between B.C. and provincial
police aims to enforce the Criminal Code
Decades of union lobbying results in agreement that sets out when police
in B.C. should investigate workplace accidents causing injury or fatality
BY MELISSA CAMPEAU
THIS PAST APRIL, the British
Columbia Ministry of Energy
and Mines and B.C. police agen-
cies signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU), locking
in a protocol to ensure investiga-
tion by police in the case of fa-
talities and bodily harm at mine
sites. While the MOU is new, it
has a history that dates back at
least a quarter of a century.
At 5:18 a.m., on May 9, 1992,
inside the Westray coal mine in
Plymouth, N.S., a gust of meth-
ane gas caught fire, causing a
massive fireball to race through
the underground tunnels and
explode, killing 26 men trapped
inside.
Fatal heart attack at work
not work-related: Tribunal
Worker was stressed and worked long
hours, was performing regular duties
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
AN ONTARIO worker's fatal heart attack that occurred while on the
job was not work-related, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insur-
ance Appeals Tribunal has ruled.
The worker was hired in July 2000 and worked as a log haul trans-
port driver for a lumber company. On April 12, 2006, he was inside
his truck waiting in a line for his truck to be loaded at a timber stock-
pile. The loader operator signaled for the worker to move his truck
NEWS BRIEF
IS ANTI-VAX
MOVEMENT GROWING?
(Reuters) The number of pediatri-
cians reporting vaccine refusals
increased significantly, with the
most common reason given is the
belief that vaccines are unneces-
sary, according to a small survey
of pediatricians conducted by the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
In 2013, 87% of pediatricians
reported experiencing a vaccine
refusal — a significant increase
compared to 2006 (74.5%), re-
ported Catherine Hough-Telford,
MD, of University of Alabama at
Birmingham, and colleagues.
The percentage of pediatricians
who reported that parents refused
vaccines because they considered
them unnecessary was also up
dramatically from 2006 (73.1%
versus 63.4%, respectively).
They added that other studies
have suggested that the "rela-
tive rarity" of vaccine-preventable
diseases has caused parents to
perceive vaccines as "less crucial"
to the health of their children. The
AAP also argued that non-medical
exemptions for vaccinations are
not appropriate for children enter-
ing school or a community child
care facility, in a separate state-
ment from several AAP commit-
tees.
Formalizing > pg. 4
Credit:
Shutterstock/FeyginFoto
No strenuous activity > pg. 2
