News & Announcements
To subscribe to the WCB News & Policy Subscription Service, please click here.
Announcements
The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) of Prince Edward Island was pleased to host its annual Workplace Health & Safety Conference this week to another packed crowd.
In hosting the conference, the WCB aims to bring employers and workers together to discuss emerging issues and topics related to workplace safety.
“It was another eventful conference, with relevant and timely topics on occupational health and safety,” said Stuart Affleck, Chair of the Workers Compensation Board. “We are proud to host this important event, as it continues to be an excellent opportunity to come together as safety professionals, employers and workers, to build awareness around safety.”
This year’s delegates were treated to an engaging presentation by Curtis Weber, this year’s key note speaker. Curtis Weber comes from Battleford, Saskatchewan, and has been inspiring and influencing change in safety behaviours across North America for over 10 years. Working in safety as a Trainer, Consultant, Officer and Speaker, following a near fatal workplace incident, Curtis has been able to develop a unique way of challenging audiences to change the way they perceive safety. Curtis believes that before we can develop or change a safety culture, first we must understand and influence human behaviours towards safety. Using his own personal experience of a near fatal workplace incident, Curtis tells his story and challenges the way people think about safety. This heartening presentation shows how a tragic, life-changing, and near-fatal experience turned one man's experience toward passion and purpose.
Delegates also enjoyed a variety of sessions relevant to today’s employers, managers, supervisors and workers, and designed to promote safety skills, knowledge and awareness. Topics included:
- Creating Mentally Healthy Workplaces
- Lift Smart & Stay Safe: A Guide to Injury Prevention and Safe Lifting at Work
- Fire Safety in the Workplace
- Workplace Policies #TrendingNow
- Safe Business is Smart Business
- Safety Culture: Beliefs, Values, Actions
- Supervisory Development-What Do I Really Need to Know?
- Accident Investigation for Today’s Workplace
- Using Behavioural Insights to Nudge Workers Back to Work
- Finding Balance: A Self-Care Approach to Managing Your Life
- Safety Communications at Maritime Electric.
The conference also featured a trade show of products and services from Canada’s health and safety community.
The conference also featured an inspiring workshop from PEI's own Paralympic Medalist Mark Arendz, who recently won six medals at the 2018 Paralympic Games in Pyeong Chang, including a biathlon gold. Mark’s session, Finding Opportunities After Loss, chronicled his journey from a traumatic farm accident on PEI when he was only seven years old, to becoming a Paralympic Medalist and a World Champion in Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing.
The WCB hosts the conference annually around North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week. For more information about creating a culture of workplace safety throughout the year, visit the Health and Safety section of the Workers Compensation Board website at www.wcb.pe.ca or contact the WCB office at 902-368-5680 or toll-free at 1-800-237-5049.
The Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. is pleased to announce the provincial winners of this year’s High School Video Contest, which challenges students to create a video about the importance of safety on the job.
This year’s winners are Grade 12 students Ben MacMillan and Jacob MacDonald from Morell Regional High School. The student duo created a short film called “A Neglected Decision,” which chronicles a series of missteps that leads to tragedy for a young worker.
“Despite ongoing prevention efforts across Canada, workplace injuries continue to occur to those in the most vulnerable of age groups, our 15 - 24 year olds,” said Stuart Affleck, Chair of the Workers Compensation Board. “We must continue to look for opportunities to educate our youth, to create safer workplaces for the future.”
As the winners of the contest, the students will share a $1,000 cash prize and receive $1,000 for their school. Their video will also be submitted to the national Youth Video Contest, sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), where there are more cash prizes to be won.
Islanders are invited to cast their vote to make the Morell students’ video the “Fan Favourite” in the National contest at http://www.ccohs.ca/youngworkers/video_contest.html . Voting will be open between April 26th and May 3rd. The winner will be announced online the week of May 7th, and will receive an additional $1,000 cash prize.
This video contest is part of a national initiative to promote safety and rights for young workers. The Prince Edward Island contest is sponsored by CCOHS in partnership with the Workers Compensation Board. The video is available on the WCB website at wcb.pe.ca/workplace/contest.
The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) will begin polling injured workers to gain a better understanding of their return to work experience.
On behalf of the WCB, Corporate Research Associates will conduct the polling, participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous. CRA does not disclose the identity of the survey participants to the WCB or to anyone else, and only provides individual responses stripped of identifying information if the participant authorizes.
WCB is dedicated to exploring ways to improve service and support clients as they return to the workforce and this survey is one method of gaining valuable feedback.
If you have any questions about our surveys, please contact us.
News Releases
Laura Steeves, Senior Communications Coordinator
902-894-0362 or lsteeves@wcb.pe.ca
To subscribe to the WCB News & Policy Subscription Service, please click here.
