2020 has been a difficult year for those in the OHS sector
One of my favourite parts of putting together our bi-monthly magazine is getting to interview individuals who are really making a difference in the OHS sector. These are hard-working, passionate people who strive to make each and every workplace safe for all workers. Here at COS, we are always proud to shine a light on safety heroes throughout Canada.
Amin Yazdani, director of the Canadian Institute for Safety, Wellness and Performance (CISWP) – ““Any decrease in the capacity of first responders would impact society as a whole. It’s very important that we acknowledge that any investment in improving the health and safety of our first responders is going to be impacting the safety and security of Canadians.”
Kody Messenger, president of Enger Safety – “My favourite part of being a safety professional is a tie between teaching people and the technical aspects of the work. I love seeing people’s businesses excel and improve because of the work I do.”
Lisa McGuire, CEO and founder of the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of B.C. – “The innovative health and safety programs, services and tools we develop support industry success and make a difference in workers’ lives. At the end of the day, it’s people at the end of those statistics.”
Abdel Rahman-Sabriye, environment, health and safety associate manager at Deciem – “I genuinely believe that safety is not conducted from behind a desk or at your workstation. You have to go out engage, help, coach and be involved to build that relationship.”
Thomas Teahen, president and CEO of Ontario’s WSIB – ““Never before had the WSIB had that kind of financial stability. We now have a workers’ compensation system that is financially sustainable for Ontarians.”
Myrna Layton, senior health and safety co-ordinator with Scott Construction Group – “I enjoy being the woman behind the scenes. I feel no need to be the top dog — it’s never been an aspiration of mine that my face is on the cover of magazines. People need to know themselves and know where they excel.”
Lee-Anne Lyon-Bartley, executive vice president of health, safety, environment and quality for Horizon North Logistics – “As cliché as it might sound, I like the fact that I get to help people, make a difference in the organization. I'm a bit of a science geek too so I like the fact that health safety, food safety, infection prevention and control and environment all include science!”
Jeet Tulshi, service director at Liberty Mutual Canada – “The best part of being a health and safety professional is being able to protect people first, but businesses as well. Being able to help protect people is a very noble cause. I don't think there are too many professions that are able to make that claim.”
Deborah Roy, ASSP president - “It has been really interesting to see how much more visibility my colleagues are getting in this particular space. And with that visibility, they now have a responsibility to engage with senior leadership. It’s a great opportunity that's been handed to us. And it's up to safety and health professionals to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Phillip Germain, CEO of Saskatchewan’s WCB – “I understand how good people may not know anything about health and safety, but that doesn’t mean [that] because they don’t focus on health and safety they are not good people and they aren’t good companies. I know from my own experience growing up [that] this wasn’t intuitive and it wasn’t easy.”
