Health and Safety

With less than a year to go for the implementation of the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau is once again displaying leadership on road safety by reminding the trucking industry and the Canadian public that the much needed regulation is well on its way to being delivered.

Seven years ago today, a terrible tragedy occurred in Lac-Mégantic. A train with 72 tank cars carrying 7.7 million litres of oil derailed and destroyed the downtown core of this small town in the Eastern Townships, killing 47 people.

Last Thursday, in Webb, SK, the C.P. Rail Engineering Health & Safety Policy Committee visited the roadside memorial honouring the twenty-two CP employees who died on May 28, 1980, to pay their respects. A moment of silence was held, and twenty-two flowers were laid in remembrance.

Teamsters Local Union 31 recently won an important victory for injured workers, especially truck drivers.

The Teamsters have written to the Chief Medical Examiner of Manitoba to request a coroner’s inquest into a September 15 derailment near Ponton, MB that killed a conductor and left a locomotive engineer with life altering injuries.

In September 2015, Teamsters Canada launched a national social media campaign called Make It Mandatory to convince Parliament to make mental health awareness and support mandatory in the workplace.

Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio said he believes that truck drivers should be required to undergo random testing for cannabis. The Teamsters Union opposes this possible measure not only because it would violate workers’ right to privacy, but also, because a positive test result does not necessarily prove that the person is intoxicated.

Course Duration: 2 days This course is designed for female members, shop stewards, and health and safety representatives.

Course Duration: 1 day This course is designed for shop stewards, health and safety representatives, and business agents who work under provincial or federal jurisdiction.

Course Duration: 2 days This course empowers participants to prevent work related, accidents and injuries and near-misses in the workplace.