Latest news with #OccupationalHealthandSafety
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Calgary Herald
11 OHS charges filed over fatal trench collapse in northwest Calgary
Two years after the death of an apprentice plumber in northwest Calgary, Occupational Health and Safety charges have been laid against Mr. Mike's Plumbing Ltd., after a worker was fatally injured while working on a City of Calgary sewer line. Article content Article content On June 8, 2023, 27-year-old Liam Johnston was killed while working on a sewer line replacement excavation site in the alley of the 2600 block on 34th Avenue N.W., in the community of Charleswood. Article content Article content 'He was outside and they had opened up a hole in the backyard of the home,' said Emily Gofton, the victim's partner. 'The company, according to the charges, did not have the proper safety equipment on site.' Article content Article content Although there were other employees on site, Johnston was working alone inside of a three- to six-metre hole, where he was trying to identify the pipe that needed to be replaced. Article content 'The retaining wall and the hole collapsed on him,' Gofton said. 'So that buried him alive in there, and the fire and rescue crews weren't able to recover his body for most of the day due to the lack of equipment that was on site.' Article content On May 29, the Ministry of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration charged Mr. Mike's Plumbing Ltd. with 11 counts under the OHS laws, in connection with Johnston's death, a spokesman said in a statement issued to Postmedia. Article content The charges outlined several failures to ensure the health, safety and welfare of a worker, including failure to ensure the protection of an employee from the collapse of an excavation wall, failure to implement safe work procedures in an excavation site and several OHS Code violations. Article content Article content The ministry also said that it is always tragic when a worker dies on the job, and that it is the province's goal to have all workers return home from work both healthy and safe every day. Article content Article content Gofton added that the Calgary Police Service completed its investigation on the incident, with investigators' findings sent to the Crown for review. Article content 'We're really hopeful that they'll be adding criminal charges on top of these occupational health and safety charges as well,' she said. Article content From statements to various forms of evidence, Gofton said she is thankful for the support from community members and former employees who stepped forward during the investigation process. She notes that screenshots from messages that took place from months before the incident played a critical role in the investigation.
Cision Canada
27-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Streamlining licensing and workers compensation registration key to unlocking Canadian labour mobility Français
TORONTO, May 27, 2025 /CNW/ - As the Committee on Internal Trade's June 1 deadline for delivering an action plan to boost labour mobility approaches, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s new snapshot highlights inconsistent regulations and standards restricting labour mobility across the country. "There has been lots of positive talk at all levels of government around breaking down labour mobility barriers in Canada, but we haven't seen all the action needed to support it yet," said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB's senior policy analyst. "The June 1 deadline to deliver an action plan on labour mobility, as well as the First Ministers' Meeting on June 2 are opportunities for Premiers and the Prime Minister to show Canadian small business owners that they're serious about eliminating internal trade barriers." Of small businesses who have hired workers from, or have employees working in, other jurisdictions, nearly half (49%) have experienced challenges. For those businesses, top challenges include lack of recognition of certifications between jurisdictions, acquiring provincial licensing, adjusting Occupational Health and Safety rules to fit requirements of another jurisdiction, and registering business and employees in workers' compensation outside of their home province/territory. CFIB is urging governments to minimize exceptions, streamline certification processes, mutually recognize equivalent qualifications, and make it easier and quicker for employees to start working in another jurisdiction. "We're hearing from businesses that navigating WCB systems is time-consuming and that differing provincial regulations make it hard to operate and expand across Canada," said Bradlee Whidden, CFIB's senior policy analyst. "We need policies that would open doors for workers and allow businesses to better recruit and retain employees. Workers would be able to move to areas where their skills are in higher demand, while businesses would be able to fill vacancies more quickly, boosting Canada's economy and productivity while addressing unemployment. That can be done without compromising public safety, but we need political will and governments working together." Some examples of labour mobility barriers include: A nurse registered to practice in Ontario must still register with Quebec's college in order to start work in Quebec. A Red Seal-certified stylist from Newfoundland and Labrador cannot legally use the titles "hairstylist" or "hairdresser" in New Brunswick unless they have a separate, mandatory licence from the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick. They must also fill out an out-of-province application with supporting documents and pay $340, and the whole process could take up to 30 days. Podiatrists from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Northwest Territories must complete additional training before they can register and fully practice in Alberta. About CFIB The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at
IOL News
21-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Gauteng government faces criticism over R34 million spent on unused buildings
The DA in Gauteng has decried the state of hired buildings by various provincial departments, which are reportedly spending more than R34 million monthly in leasing privately owned buildings while the province has its own buildings that are not being utilised. Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is reported to own no less than 41 unused buildings, while many of its departments continue to pay millions in rental fees. This is an assertion made by the DA in the province. According to the document from the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, 12 of these are in the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) and the remaining 29 are in the Pretoria CBD. Due to financial constraints, most of these buildings do not meet Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards, making them unfit for use. The Democratic Alliance's (DA) provincial spokesperson for Infrastructure Development, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, and a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, condemned the lack of accountability shown by the Gauteng government over reports that the province is paying over R34 million monthly in building leases instead of refurbishing its own properties to save costs. On Wednesday, Rasilingwane conducted an oversight visit to one of the buildings on Fox Street in the Joburg CBD, where she and her team were denied the right to go ahead with their oversight visit to the building. The building is said to be one of the properties currently being rented by the provincial government, while many of the buildings owned by the province are said to be rotting away unused. The party stated that it has been reliably informed by some of the employees, as well as through its communication channels within the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, following an oral reply to MEC for Infrastructure Development, Jacob Mamabolo, who has confirmed that indeed the province is paying millions in rental fees. "We wrote and sent questions to the MEC for Infrastructure Development, Jacob Mamabolo, who then responded to say the province has 41 buildings that are practically abandoned. We learned they are renting their head offices, including 11 buildings, one of which prevented our visit. This is a building meant to house the Department of Education. "We have just come out of this building where we have been denied access to conduct our visit when we have been reliably informed by some of the workers that the building is actually not being utilised while the government pays R2.9 million a month," she stated. Attempts to get a comment from the provincial Department of Infrastructure Development were unsuccessful at the time of going to print, with the Department of Education in the province having referred the matter to GDID for comment. The DA said it was unacceptable that the GPG pays R34 104 005,07 monthly for office rentals for various departments while the province has its buildings. "Following our oversight inspection, we will engage directly with the MEC for Infrastructure Development (GDID), Jacob Mamabolo, based on the findings," Rasilingwane further stated. [email protected]
Calgary Herald
16-05-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Calgary T&T Supermarket worker died after losing consciousness on the job
A worker died after losing conciousness at the T&T Supermarket in Sage Hill in northwest Calgary Monday. Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia A staff member at a T&T Supermarket in Sage Hill died after losing consciousness on the job. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Occupational Health and Safety has confirmed the agency is investigating the incident. 'It is always tragic when a worker dies on the job,' the agency said in an email. 'A worker felt unwell, was taken to hospital and later died.' OH&S refused to provide any additional information as the investigation is ongoing. T&T confirmed the incident in an email, saying, 'We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred on May 12.' It added it's currently cooperating with Occupational Health and Safety and providing any information they require.
IOL News
29-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Is Gauteng's R34 million rental bill justifiable? Premier Lesufi seeks answers
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has hired an independent forensic firm to investigate the provincial government's expenditure on lease agreements after it emerged that R34 million is being paid out monthly for rentals. Last week, DA Gauteng spokesperson for infrastructure development, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane issued a statement, saying the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) wastes over R34 million monthly on office rentals, while 41 provincial government buildings stand empty and abandoned. 'Instead of wasting taxpayers' money on renting office space, GDID must fix the buildings that are not in use due to non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards,' Rasilingwane said at the time. On Tuesday, Panyaza's spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the ongoing investigation seeks to ascertain if the huge rentals bill is wasteful expenditure for the province. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. 'I think it (the probe) is to ascertain whether there is wasteful expenditure by our government and what are other options. Other options have been toyed around, part of it being to go through private-public partnership, which we think is a very viable option to bring back some of government buildings which are dilapidated,' he said. Mhaga said it is anticipated that the investigators would not take much time in the probe. Additionally, Mhaga said the Gauteng government has an ongoing mega project to revitalise the Joburg central business district, which has been abandoned by the majority of private sector businesses who moved to areas like Sandton and Rosebank.
