A meeting of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Labour wrapped up today with a commitment by Ministers to work together to achieve healthy and safe workplaces for all Canadians.
Hon. Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour says the three-day conference was a great opportunity to work with her counterparts. “We agreed to collaborate on ways to address issues including preventing violence in the workplace, employment protection for victims of crime and best practices for temporary foreign workers and for young workers.”
Workplace violence was identified as one key area of concern. The Ministers agreed to heighten awareness, exchange research and information on best practices and continue to develop strategies, tools and measures to improve the prevention of violence in the workplace.
“It is all about collaboration and how we can learn from each other,” Minister Bertram said. “We are returning to our respective provinces and territories more energized and with a clear understanding of how we can work together to address certain labour issues.”
During the meeting, Hon. Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, brought several federal government priorities to the table, including job protection for reservists. He commended Minister Bertram for implementing legislation which ensures job protection for reservists in Prince Edward Island. The amendment to the Employment Standards Act was given unanimous consent in the Legislative Assembly in the fall. Currently Prince Edward Island is one of only six provinces that either have laws protecting reservists or are working on introducing legislation.
Prince Edward Island has introduced initiatives including new Noise and Confined Space Regulations, the Start Smart Stay Safe program for new and young workers, protection for farm workers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and other programs which focus on protecting Island workers and employers through accident prevention and workplace safety efforts.