Rob Ellis and Jessica Di Sabatino lost a son and brother in 1999 to a workplace accident: David was 18 and it was his second day on the job. Rob and Jess have been on the lookout for Safety Champions ever since. This is their blog.

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Rob's blog

Double the Fines for Young Worker Safety

Submitted by Rob on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 10:04.

I'm sure you've seen a sign like this as you approach a road crew - a warning sign reinforcing the seriousness of driving too fast through a construction zone.

Why such a big jump in the penalty - doubling the fines? Because you could be endangering the lives of those young women and men wearing the hard hats and safety vests while they improve your roads, that's why!

Everyone seems to accept the doubling of fines in these high-risk circumstances when it comes to road crew safety... so why don't we apply the same principle to workplace safety in general?

Hands-Free or Highway Parking

Submitted by Rob on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 16:06.

This week the use of hand-held cellphones, Blackberries, other PDAs, iPods and other MP3 players, and handheld GPS systems while driving became illegal in Ontario, where I live and work. Now only hands-free devices can be used in the new "distracted driving" law.

Raise your Hand HIGH

Submitted by Rob on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 13:10.

I've long been a fan of the great, progressive work done by Work Safe BC... but now they've outdone themselves with an amazing, redesigned website that is social networked to the max - for their Raise your Hand campaign aimed at teens primarily and it includes:

Needless Blood

Submitted by Rob on Mon, 04/20/2009 - 09:01.

If 2,000 polar bears were injured this year in Canada, don't you think someone would speak up?

Polar bears are important... but so are people.

Last year in Canada, 200,000 workers were injured at their jobs.

Something must be done.

Are you part of the solution?

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'Tell Me Your Story' DVD a Big Winner for Workplace Safety

Submitted by Rob on Sun, 04/19/2009 - 10:03.

"Those stories are going to help a lot" says the trailer for the powerful workplace safety stories produced in a series of DVDs by Canadian company, Danatec. A few seconds into it, I see a man severely disfigured on face and arms by burn scars, a woman discussing the occupational disease that has made her a victim, and a pair of lab workers discussing the need for WHIMS training.

BUT it's NOT dull! Rather, the trailer is fast-paced, with an engaging soundtrack, cutting to images of varying workplaces, and still cram-packed with valuable information aimed at saving lives at work.


yeah I don't think that law Munro's Safety Apparel 11/04/2009 - 16:02 In my work experience, small Fred Rose 09/10/2009 - 17:57 Hi, Morgan,Absolutely we'll heather 06/01/2009 - 12:52 I’ve been working in the Sylvain Grenier 06/01/2009 - 12:45	View more videos	Workplace Injury is an Inevitable Part of Life: Agree - no one or no company is perfect - accidents will always be a part of society. Somewhat agree - accidents will always be a part of society but we can work on reducing the most tragic accidents. Disagree - every accident is preventable.