THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN 10  ONTARIO ROOFING NEWS – WINTER 2018/19 Ministry of Labour’s Message ANewYear’sMessagefrom Ontario’sMinistryofLabour(MOL) A s I sat across my family on Christmas day, watching them, smiled as they opened presents and enjoyed Christmas dinner, the word “purpose” suddenly became a focus in my mind. My family is my purpose. They are the reason I get up in the morning and fight the traffic to get to work and back home; they are the ones that guide my life decisions, influence my behaviour and shape my goals. So, when I think about my life’s “purpose” in the perspective of health and safety, I ask myself two rhetorical questions: • Why do workers choose to work unsafely and not think of the consequences that may be left behind to the family? and; • Do supervisors or employers – who fail to provide proper instruction, training or who fail to ensure that adequate personal protective equipment is utilized by their worker – ever imagine the turmoil or the emotional and financial stress that they put their own family through when they are the centre of legal proceedings? It is unfortunate that again this past Christmas, there were parents, spouses and children that will no longer see Christmas as a joyous time of year. It only reminds them of a traumatic time when they lost a loved one as a result of a workplace fatality and that, in everyone’s eyes, is unfair to any child, parent or spouse. Health and safety has no room for selfish acts. This mes- sage has to be repeated in order for it to be imbedded in the minds of all: health and safety or lack thereof has a lasting effect on more people than just ourselves. Whether it is employers and the consequences they face when they have a history of workplace injuries (WSIB rates and their inability to secure work, which in turn affects their em- ployees), whether it is every taxpayer in this province and the burden put on the health-care system, or whether it is our families and the aftermath of a loss. What we do, the choices we make, affects the lives of many. We have the benefit of starting a new year and with that a clean slate. Many people take this time to make New Year’s resolutions or set goals, and we should be no dif- ferent. It is time that we show the results of all our ef- forts of shaping health and safety in this province. I put forward a challenge to the construction industry in this province that we start by lowering the number of critical injuries and fatalities in the construction sector for 2019 in comparison to 2018. 2019 can be our springboard to the next five years and beyond. It can and should be achieved because this prov- ince has the people that care and who have the drive and knowledge to succeed. Your family, my family and the fam- ily of those in the construction industry will all thank us when we meet this challenge. Vince Iacolino Provincial Coordinator (A) Construction Health and Safety Program Occupational Health and Safety Branch Ontario Ministry of Labour The following comments were included in an MOL report presented to IHSA’s Provincial Labour Management Health and Safety Committee at their January 2019 meeting. As occupational health and safety is a driving force within the OIRCA, we thought we would send this passionate message along to our readership: By Vince Iacolino EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY | PROVEN PERFORMANCE | INDUSTRY LEADING TECHNICAL SUPPORT 1-800-655-3430 WWW.BROOKLIN.COM TYPICAL APPLICATION • Flat Roof Installations • Green Roof (LEED®) • Low or High-rise Structures • Commercial Buildings BISON Adjustable Pedestals Ledgerock Pedslab Solar White Ballast-Lok �� ���������� ���� �������� �������� ��� ��� ���� ���-���-���� ���� ���-���-���� ������ ������������������������� ��������������������� ����� ������ ��� - PMI Programs - Metal Roof Systems - Emergency Services - Roof Top Decks - Modified Bitumen - Waterproofing - Roof Anchors - Sheet Metal �������� �� ������� ������� � ������� ��� ���� �� ����� �������� ����� ������ � ������� - Built Up Systems - Restoration - Single Ply - Inverted ���������� ���������� ����������� ������ �������� ���������� ���������� ����������� ������ ��������