Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines
The Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines, informally known as the Ham Commission,[1] was a 1974 Canadian royal commission created by the Government of Ontario to investigate and report on the safety of mines.[2][3][1]
Background[]
In the 1970's, the Canadian mining sector had the highest injury rate of all industries in Canada.[4]
On the 18 April 1974, uranium miners at Elliot Lake, concerned about the prevalence of lung cancer and silicosis, started a fourteen day wildcat strike.[5][6] The strike prompted Ontario Premier Bill Davis on 10 September 1974 to ask engineer and university administer[7] James Ham to lead a commission on the health and safety of workers in uranium mines.[4][8]
The commission focused on the two uranium mining regions in Ontario: Elliot Lake and Bancroft.
James Ham summited his report on 30 June 1976.[4][8]
Findings[]
The commission produced 117 recommendations[8] including a need for legislation to provide workers with three rights,[9] which the Institute for Work & Health described in 2010:[1]
- "Knowledge – having ready access to information about actual and expected conditions at the workplace, and about the state of health of the workers;
- Contributive responsibility – to provide individual and collective insight on problems on the basis of knowledge and work experience; and
- Direct responsibility – to make operative decisions that influence conditions at work".[1]
These three rights have become the basis of all modern health and safety legislation in Canada.[9]
The commission created the concept of the Internal Responsibility System[2][1] which was a key element of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in 1979.[2][8] The Internal Responsibility System requires that workplaces properly control risk, although systems of government inspections and regulation were also recommended, with that responsibility falling to the Ontario Ministry of Labour.[1]
Other recommendations were documented in United Steelworkers union leader Lynn R. Williams' 2011 memoir One Day Longer:[10]
- that government consult with industry and workers while creating safety rules in mines, specifically with regards to dust and ventilation
- that government make rules to measure dust exposure in mines
- that workers get compensated for injury from workplace hazards
- that air quality be monitored, with specific regards to radiation, dust and contaminants
- that government consult with workers, industry and the Workmen's Compensation Board and create better systems for reporting of accidents and injuries
- that a health and safety committee be struck at every mine that comprises of equal representation from workers and management
- that priority be given to the accredited training for mine workers
- that workers be have a mechanism to object to tasks assigned by their line manager if they deem them unreasonable and that their objection be heard by more senior management with an auditor observing
- that industry stated health surveillance of workers[10]
Immediate impact[]
The recommendations led to the passing of Bill 70,[10] which lead to the creation of the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act in 1979.[1]
Because the commission was a federal government process, the findings did not immediately affect provincial legislation, however the unionized miners used the recommendations from the commission to inform their collective bargaining.[4][8]
Reception[]
Vic Pakalnis, the CEO of the Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation described Ham as the "father of occupational health and safety in Canada."[4]
See also[]
- 1974 Elliot Lake miners strike
- James Milton Ham
- List of Canadian royal commissions
- Uranium mining in the Bancroft area
- Uranium mining, Health risks
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g Dr Alan Hall, Professor, University of Windsor; Andrew King, United Steelworkers Union Health and Safety representative; Dr Syed Naqvi, Adjunct Professor, University of Waterloo and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers staff ergonomist; Terri Aversa, Ontario Public Service Employees Union Health and Safety representative; Nick DeCarlo, Canadian Auto Workers Union Workers‟ Compensation representative; Alec Farquhar, Managing Director, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers; Laura Lozanski, Canadian Union of University Teachers Health and Safety representative; Dr Wayne Lewchuk, Professor, McMaster University; Dr Robert Storey, Professor, McMaster University. (14 Sep 2010). "Precarious Employment and the Internal Responsibility System" (PDF). Institute for Work & Health. Labour OHCOW Academic Research Alliance.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Rebbitt, Dave (8 March 2016). "Safety is everyone's responsibility". www.thesafetymag.com. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Milestones: safer workplaces | Canadian Public Health Association". www.cpha.ca. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ a b c d e "The strike that saved lives". magazine.cim.org. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "The History of the Occupational Health and Safety Act". Windsor Occupational Health Information Service. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Workplace safety fight far from over, Steelworkers say". CBC. 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Historic strike recalled – by Kevin McSheffrey (Elliot Lake Standard – April 16, 2014)". Republic of Mining. 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ a b c d e "Elliot Lake wildcat strike led to key law". thesudburystar. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ a b "HISTORY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN CANADA AN OVERVIEW" (PDF). 2017.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b c Williams, Lynn R. (2011). One Day Longer - a memoir. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442699267.
External links[]
- Provincial commissions and inquiries in Canada
- 1974 in Ontario
- Mining in Ontario
- Uranium mining in Canada
- Occupational safety and health
- Elliot Lake
- History of Canada (1960–1981)
- Commissions and inquiries in Ontario