Still too many workplace injuries, North Bay officials say

A health and safety officer in North Bay says too many accidents continue to happen on job sites in the province.

“We average about 22 deaths a year in construction, which is too high. It should be zero,” said Don Toshack, a health and safety officer with Designed Roofing.

“We have 40-50 new workers who are injured every day in this province, either in construction or industrial. It’s a number that’s way too high.”

Toshack told CTV News that training has come a long way in recent years, but said it’s crucial all areas of training are completed and understood.

“Things like hazard awareness, hazard controls, learning how to work from platforms safely,” he said.

“These are the things that are basic training … I’m sure the trade schools do an excellent job on this, it’s not new to us … we’ve been talking about new and young workers for 10 years now.”

Workplace Safety North, a trade safety group based in Sudbury, is preaching the same message.

“Especially focus on the hazards that a worker may encounter in their work day,” said Lindsay Digby, health and safety specialist with Workplace Safety North.

“What may be important to one, may not be as critical to another, because they aren’t as exposed to the same type of hazards in the workplace.”

Workplace Safety North has rolled out a new safety checklist for workers, employers and supervisors to use.

Digby said it’s to keep everyone on the same page when it comes to safety, especially new and young hires.