North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week was first launched in June 1997, marked by an agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the celebration and recognition of this week by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, which is the leading organization for NAOSH Week. The purpose of NAOSH Week is to focus attention on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home and in the community.

Of course, safety is our highest priority in regulation of the offshore oil and gas industry. As well, in our own work environment and as an employer, the C-NLOPB is subject to the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act and works hard to provide a safe and supportive work environment for our employees. We are committed to working with staff members through our Occupational Health and Safety Committee, which continually evaluates and reduces risks and hazards in our workplace and improves the safety of our work environment. We value our employees’ psychological well-being as well as their physical health and safety. To that end, we are glad to see mental health receiving more prominence in workplace health and safety discussions and activities and in society more generally. Several C-NLOPB employees have completed training in mental health first aid and we offer an Employee and Family Assistance Plan to support our employees when they need it.

We are proud to support NAOSH Week and will once again organize events this year to recognize and promote the importance of health and safety. The theme of NAOSH Week for 2017 is ‘Make Safety a Habit’ – we agree that making safety a regular, ingrained mindset within the work environment will lead to fewer incidents. We encourage everyone to make safety a habit at home, too.

Blog 2017