Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in Canada, accounting for 80% of chronic disease diagnoses. While the disease can be effectively managed, it can be fatal if left untreated.

Emergency Preparedness Week, May 5th-11th 2013, is a Canada-wide initiative to help raise awareness and prepare individuals, families, businesses, and communities for an emergency.

If you hire new or young workers, you may receive a visit from a Ministry of Labour inspector. The ministry’s sixth new or young worker safety blitz starts May 1 and continues until August 31.

This helpful infographic provides a snapshot of health & safety within Ontario: how big is Ontario's problem; where are the injuries happening; most common characteristics; what it means in benefit costs; young workers at risk; employee satisfaction; the value of prevention.

Canadians are paying more than ever for a health care system that is under strain and in need of transformation. Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist with the Conference Board of Canada, will speak to the need for change and the critical role that workplace prevention programs can play in the transformation of Canada’s ailing health care system – on Tuesday, April 30 at 2 p.m. as part of the Partners in Prevention 2013 Health & Safety Conference and Trade Show, at the International Centre, Mississauga, ON.

A just-released CSA standard for managing occupational health and safety training offers workplaces their first practical guide to managing an effective OHS training system.

Public voting on original "It's Your Job" videos created by Canadian high school students and young Canadians 18-24 will take place during North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, May 5-11.

Full day of training which offers participants two workshops out of a choice of six - one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Emerging trends and issues in workplace hazards, risk management, and occupational health and safety legislation are the focus of this year's Partners in Prevention 2013. As Canada's largest health and safety event, the annual conference plays host to over 4,500 leading health and safety experts and delegates from across Canada. It takes place this year from April 30 to May 1, at the International Centre, Mississauga , Ontario.

Receive key updates on issues that affect you. Updates include information on new health & safety resources, special events, product and service promotions and our monthly e-Newsletter Network News.

Ontario Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis has assigned two new task groups to consult and provide advice on vulnerable workers and about small business. Each task group has 12 members: six worker representatives and six employer representatives. They will study the issues, gather information, and report back over a period of not more than 30 months.

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour has proposed new or revised occupational exposure limits (OELs) for nine hazardous chemicals listed under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

A two-month blitz on slips, trips and falls beginning February 1 will have Ministry of Labour inspectors looking for hazards involving falls from heights, falls from ladders, mobile ladder stands and platforms and same-level falls.

Today’s release of a new national standard for mental health in the workplace, adds a vital psychological dimension to the health and safety factors that impact Canadian workers and workplaces.

Please note that orders for product must be received by 4:00 p.m. on December 14th for shipment before year end. Orders received after that date will be held and shipping will recommence on January 2, 2013.

In just one year, businesses participating in WSPS's 2011 Safety Group collectively cut their injury frequency rate by 13.64%, and their injury severity rate by 19.82%. "These results demonstrate that participating businesses can make profound improvements to their safety performance," says WSPS's Safety Group program lead Lisa Graham.

As a result of their improved performance, WSPS businesses that successfully completed the 2011 program will share in a $7.3 million rebate of their 2011 WSIB premiums.

A new voluntary national standard provides workplaces with the tools needed to continuously and measurably improve workers' psychological health and safety. "It will help workplaces prevent mental harm by enabling them to identify and address root causes," says Andrew Harkness, a healthy workplace specialist with WSPS. "It's a strategic approach, with all the long-term benefits that come with strategic planning."

A round of improvements to the Health & Safety Ontario (HSO) and Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) websites enhances your ability to locate, access and purchase essential health and safety resources. HSO comprises four partner organizations, including WSPS, that serve Ontario's 236,000 Ontario businesses.

An Ontario brewery has lost an appeal of orders issued after a Ministry of Labour ergonomist observed a driver handling product on a routine delivery route. Most male workers would be physically incapable of performing some of the driver's tasks, the ergonomist noted in her report. Read on for more about the OLRB decision and what workplaces can learn from it.

The Ministry of Labour is conducting a manufacturing blitz for the industrial sector. With so many enforcement priorities identified, how do you prepare? The key is to focus your efforts around priority hazards specific to your workplace.

This is just one of many questions Workplace Safety & Prevention Services consultants are fielding as registration for the 2013 Safety Group begins. WSPS consultant and Safety Group chapter lead Janet Bewers has her own take on the question, but first, more on the program itself. WSPS's Safety Group helps active members improve their safety performance, lower costs, and earn Workplace Safety and Insurance Board rebates through networking meetings and one-on-one access to consultants.

On its first Workwell audit, Miller Technology scored 17%. "It was quite an eye-opener," says Chad Miller, vice president of operations. On its second audit, the firm scored 96.3%. How did Miller Technology close such a gap? First: the firm realized that success was less about the score and more about developing a sustainable, top-down and bottom-up health and safety program that protects its people. Second, the firm recognized it couldn't do it alone.

Join the Ontario Healthy Workplace Coalition (OHWC) for a very special morning of keynote presentations, networking and the 2012 annual general meeting on Thursday, October 18, 2012. Keynote presenters include, MOL Chief Prevention Officer, George Gritziotis and WSPS President & CEO, Elizabeth Mills.