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The article reports on the new voluntary safety standard pushed by Canada, due to the high death rate in the workplace. According to sources, Canadian workers are among the most at risk of dying or being injured on the job. Thus, the Canadian Standards Association recommends that employers implement a new workplace safety system. However, the new plan of the association has been warned by labor unions not to have many teeth until it is legislated into law.

The article reports on the claim made by Canadian experts regarding industrial workers' safety. According to a reports published in the newspaper "Toronto Star," worker safety-- or lack thereof--in Ontario, Canada has reached a point where observers are calling conditions "third world." Ralph Balbaa, a professional engineer who investigates industrial and construction accidents, said as many as half of small- and medium-sized companies pay little or no heed to workplace safety.

Presents news briefs on personnel management in Canada as of April 2006. Ruling by the Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner on the use of keystroke logging software; Amendment to the Workers Compensation Act in British Columbia; Decision of the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador to lower its average base assessment rate in 2006.

The article reports on the mine workers that have been safely rescued by rescue teams from the Mosaic Co.'s Esterhazy potash mine site in Canada. There are 72 mine workers that have been safely evacuated from inside the Esterhazy potash mine after a fire of unknown origin broke out inside the mine. Mine officials identified the fire quickly and deployed Mosaic's emergency safety procedures that directed mine workers to underground "refuge stations" equipped with oxygen, food, water, and other supplies to protect them. Mosaic President and CEO Fritz Corrigan said that their mine workers followed the safety procedures resulting to a positive outcome of the rescue operation.

This article discusses findings of a study commissioned by the Canadian Center for National Occupational Health and Safety to investigate the health risks associated with hotel housekeeping. The study determined the following: (1) hotel housekeepers clean at least 16 rooms per shift; (2) a housekeeper can finish an average hotel room in 20 minutes; (3) a housekeeper changes body positions every three seconds, or approximately 8,000 times in an eight-hour shift; and (4) the workload, classified as moderately heavy to heavy burns up approximately four calories per minute. Because hotel housekeeping and other types of janitorial work involve repeating the same tasks repeatedly, the study also evaluated repetitive motion injuries (RMI) associated with cleaning a hotel room. It found the main RMI risk factors in housekeeping to include: heavy physical workloads and forceful upper-limb motions. The study suggested a variety of ways to reduce RMI injuries when cleaning hotel guest rooms. It include: rotate cleaning duties; use teams to clean guest rooms so duties can be more easily rotated and the work moves along faster; provide training on how to properly lift and move items; and use easier-to-use vacuum cleaners.

Reports on the Safety Week congresses to be held in Toronto, Ontario on July 25-28, 2004. Associations that will sponsor the event; Speakers; Topics to be covered.

Examines the Responsible Care program of the chemical industry in Canada that aims to change industry practices. Chemical accidents of the past; Safety issues; Evacuation plans around a chemical plant.

Provides information on the provisions of Bill C-45 that amends the Criminal Code to increase the risk of criminal liability in work-related accidents, implemented in Canada on March 31, 2004. Range of entities for criminal liability; Steps to ensure safety of workers and the public; Factors to consider by court in sentencing an organization.

The article reports that Ontario's Ministry of Labour will hire at least 25 new workplace safety inspectors after a December 8, 2003 wall collapse that killed a student. The wall separated the student's school from an adjacent movie theater being demolished. Fourteen other people were injured. The inspectors will start training in January, says the ministry.

Reports on the efficacy of the safety program of the furniture firm La-Z-Boy Canada in Ontario.

Focuses on the safety concerns of the members of the board of the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society in Canada. Need for safety in the materials supplied by organizations and manufacturer; Discussion on the vapor compression cycle in compressors; Applications of compressors in the changing technology.

Reports the honor given to the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA), a non-profit organization based in Canada. Services offered by IAPA; Criteria for choosing the finalists; Information about IAPA.

Reports that the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has made a comprehensive listing of Canadian Occupational Safety and Health legislation available on its website. Contents of the database; Availability in intranet, CD-ROM and network versions.

Focuses on the recommendation of Hy Ackerman, president of Metro Salvage, for the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) to adopt a code of business practices to govern conduct between CARI members, suppliers and customers. Reasons for the decision of CARI not to pursue the issue; Principles promulgated by CARI; Concerns of Ackerman about workplace safety and competition in the market; Implications of policy issues on recycling in Canada.

Discusses how newspapers may help the Workers' Compensation Board in promoting injury prevention and worksite safety in Alberta.

Features the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety which gathers, compiles and disseminates information about health and safety. Features of the center's Inquiries Service; Launching of its Web-based OSH Answers service in February 1998; Increase in the use of the group's Web site.