Our new Minister of Labour, the Honourable Jennifer Whiteside, received a Mandate Letter from the Premier. With respect to COCA’s focus, the Premier highlighted the following priorities: The full mandate letter can be found here.

Journal of Commerce | The Canadian Press | January 6, 2025 OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau said he will resign as prime minister and leader of the Liberal party following a leadership contest, after months of growing calls from within the Liberal caucus that he step down for the good of his party. A teary-eyed Trudeau told…

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Journal of Commerce | ConstructConnect™ Media | January 6, 2025 If you could stop potential construction safety incidents before they happened, you’d do anything you could to prevent them. While we don’t have anything approaching a device that can look into the future, the BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA) is leveraging the next-best thing — a…

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Journal of Commerce | DCN-JOC News Services | January 3, 2025 RICHMOND, B.C. — WorkSafeBC is reporting B.C. employers will see no change to the average base premium rate in 2025. For the eighth consecutive year, WorkSafeBC has set the average base rate at 1.55 per cent of assessable payroll (or $1.55 per $100 of payroll),…

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On behalf of BC Centre for Women in the Trades Sign up TODAY: ConnectHER Journey to Success for Women Apprentices In collaboration with the national ConnectHER program, BCCWITT is looking for tradeswomen in British Columbia to join our Journey to Success for Women Apprenticesprogram: Connect with mentors, peers, and training, and gain skills to advance your…

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Journal of Commerce | Road Safety at Work | January 2, 2025 Do your company’s New Year’s resolutions include a commitment to road safety? They should if your employees do any work-related driving, from picking up office supplies to making sales calls to travelling between jobsites. You’ve got legal responsibilities for employees who drive full time,…

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At its November 2024 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These amendments will become effective on March 31, 2025. Strikethrough versions of the amendments with explanatory notes can be accessed below. Deletions in the regulatory amendments are identified with a strikethrough and additions are in bold text and highlighted in yellow. The…

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As 2024 comes to a close, we want to thank you, our members, partners and stakeholders, for your unwavering support this year—it’s been a pleasure working with each and every one of you to keep BC workers safe and employer perspectives top of mind for WorkSafeBC and the Provincial Government. We wish you and your…

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Journal of Commerce | DCN-JOC News Services | December 20, 2024 VICTORIA — A new director has been selected for appointment to WorkSafeBC’s governance board. Effective Dec. 31, Sharon Giffen, who is an actuary, will be appointed as a director of the Workers’ Compensation Board for a term ending Dec. 31, 2027. Giffen replaces Donald Smith,…

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Office of the Premier | December 13, 2024 VICTORIA – Premier David Eby has released the following statement about an agreement with the BC Greens: “British Columbians expect us to work collaboratively to deliver on the most important issues people are facing.   “I’m pleased to share that the government and BC Greens have reached an agreement…

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Journal of Commerce | ConstructConnect™ Media | December 16, 2024 The BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA) recently uploaded a series of 11 short videos — Essential Stretches for Construction Workers — to YouTube. The simple exercises, which take no more than about a minute each to complete, represent only a small part of a collection of new resources…

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On behalf of Road Safety at Work Do your company’s New Year’s resolutions include a commitment to road safety? They should if your employees do any work-related driving, from picking up office supplies to making sales calls to travelling between job sites. You’ve got legal responsibilities for employees who drive full time, part time, or…

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On behalf of WorkSafeBC –> Approved Amendments for Part 5, Emergency Planning, in the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulation relating to emergency procedures for hazardous substances take effect on February 3, 2025.    These amendments focus on broadening and enhancing existing requirements to minimize risks to workers and other persons. The expanded sections include:  Backgrounder available…

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December 12, 2024 Construction incident summaries are based on information obtained as soon as possible after the incidents: they are preliminary and subject to change. Details have been edited to protect workers’ privacy. See additional summaries online. Injury Type: Fractures Core Activity: Structural concrete forming Location: Interior B.C. Date of Incident: 2024-Nov ID Number: 2024194900032 During the installation of vertical concrete…

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Journal of Commerce | DCN-JOC News Services | December 12, 2024 VANCOUVER — The Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) has released its last B.C. Economic Review and Outlook of the year, with the wrap up of several megaprojects taking centre stage. According to the report, while B.C.’s economy is “weak” by historical standards, it is still better…

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Every year, the BC Construction Association (BCCA) collects valuable information from industry through the BC Construction Industry Survey. Using these insights,  a full construction industry survey report is published every April during Construction Month, highlighting important trends, priorities and bright spots for the industry. The BC Construction Industry Survey helps the BCCA to understand what’s important to the…

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Journal of Commerce | DCN-JOC News Services | December 9, 2024 RICHMOND, B.C. — WorkSafeBC has issued an advisory urging workers and employers across all industries to take additional precautions when working at heights as the holiday season is upon us. Tasks such as installing festive decorations, performing outdoor construction or maintaining property during the winter…

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Journal of Commerce | ConstructConnect™ Media | December 4, 2024 The BC Construction Safety Alliance’s (BCCSA) Certified Concrete Pump Operator (CCPO) program continues to work overtime to process certification requests from a growing number of applicants who are eager to be certified to remain compliant with WorkSafeBC regulations. The good news is that the program is…

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November 27, 2024 Construction incident summaries are based on information obtained as soon as possible after the incidents: they are preliminary and subject to change. Details have been edited to protect workers’ privacy. See additional summaries online. Injury Type: Close call Core Activity: Excavation operation Location: Lower Mainland Date of Incident: 2024-Nov ID Number: 2024188240017 A mini-excavator swung and struck a…

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Journal of Commerce | DCN-JOC News Services | November 25, 2024 VICTORIA — A new report from the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) is highlighting what it feels is the pressing need to strengthen B.C.’s public finances. Coined B.C.’s Deteriorating Fiscal Position: Cause for Concern, the report details record deficits, rising debt levels and repeated credit…

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