COMMENTARY — Ontario a world leader in mine safety

The Ontario Natural Resources Safety Association (ONRSA) is an organization that promotes health and safety in the forestry, mining, and pulp and paper communities through the delivery of programs and services. ONRSA’s primary jurisdiction is the province of Ontario, where it serves 3,000 firms and 70,000 workers, though it offers its health and safety expertise to other provinces and to countries around the world.

The ONRSA reached its first international deal in May with the signing, at Expomin 96, of an agreement with Chilean counterpart Association Chilena de Seguridad (ACHS). Many of those in attendance at the signing were Canadian mining and service representatives.

As one of the world’s leading natural resource-based health and safety organizations, ONRSA is often called upon to share knowledge and information.

It has worked with governments and standards bodies from Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, Indonesia, Zimbabwe and Ireland. The agreement signed with the ACHS stipulates that the two health and safety organizations will share the translation and marketing of each other’s safety material.

This is good news for miners in Chile, an emerging mining market where many of its workers are Canadian. It is ONRSA’s hope that this partnership will bring some of Canada’s high health and safety standards to Chile, and that operations there will see lower accident and fatality rates.

Several of ONRSA’s products have already been translated into Spanish, and the organization will have the opportunity to expand into South and Central America. Although these types of marketing efforts and information exchanges only realize minor financial gains, Executive Director John Connors believes it is ONRSA’s responsibility to share its information and experience with others to further the cause of health and safety.

Based on discussions with both managers and workers, as well as with the ACHS, Connors says that there is a need in Chile for the type of products the ONRSA produces. “They are looking at the way we do things, and our experience and expertise will go a long way to help improve working conditions and procedures in Chile,” he says.

The ONRSA has made recommendations for advancing health and safety training in Chile’s natural resource industries, as well as for improving national health and safety standards and emergency services. To that end, the organization’s industrial hygienist, ventilation engineer and ergonomist are in routine communication with the ACHS. The ONRSA would like to initiate a series of interchanges with Chile specifically, sharing experience and technology. Although the joint venture is only a few months old, ONRSA is looking at training courses in Chile and Canada, work periods and the further exchange of programs and products.

Connors says the agreement is a landmark deal for any Ontario health and safety organization, and he is pleased that miners working in Chile will have the benefit of ONRSA’s resources. For workers in Chile, turning to ACHS will now be like turning to ONRSA for advice and training materials. The organization’s resources are accessible through ACHS, which will continually review new products for application there.

— The author is a program developer at ONRSA and the editor of “Resource,” that organization’s bi-monthly publication.