b'TOM MACKAYCollaboration is key to our provinces recovery Tom MackayTHE IMPORTANCE OF WORKPLACE SAFETYT Luckily, Toms vast experience and knowledge ofHe accepted a position as a health and safety inspector with the Tom Mackay joined the ECAO team as the Director of Health and Safety in February of this year, and then the COVID-19 pandemicOntarioMinistryofLabour(MOL)in2005. Whilethere, Tom hit us in March.carried out proactive inspections in both industrial and construction Workplace Occupational Health and Safety allowed him to quicklywork sites to ensure compliance with the occupational Health and swing into actionproviding guidance and developing resource tem- Safety Act and Regulations, ensuring worker safety was being addressed. plates to ECAO members to not only help keep their projects safeWork at the Ministry also included reactive work. Tom led inves-for workers, but to also keep them in compliance with governmenttigationsincludingfatalities,criticalinjuries,workrefusalsand directives and regulations as the virus spread in Ontario. complaints. In the many accident investigations that he was involved Toms passion in health and safety started early within his union,with, noncompliance with the occupational health and safety act and leading to involvement as their representative for health and safetyregulations was usually a contributing factorif not the cause itself. attheOntarioandFederalLabourwherehehelpedlobbyforHe saw firsthand the trend of new, temporary or younger workers regulatory change, including regulations for designated substancesbeing involved in serious injuries and fatalities. Oftentimes, those and adoption of American Conference of Governmental Industrialwith limited work experience were not adequately trained in proper HygienistsOccupationalExposureLimitsinOntario,aswellassafety practices, procedures or use of tools. Tom states, These work-development and facilitation of in-house and Workers Health anders just dont think they will get hurt or that they would be put in a Safety Centretraining. position to get hurt. Ontario Electrical Contractor17'