All participants are encouraged to bring their own copy of the 2012 Canadian Electrical Code book to both sessions and be prepared for a discussion.  If you need to purchase your own copy, they can be obtained online through the CSA’s website or a local electrical supplier or college/university bookstore (if you need the book immediately).

Please note:  Upon registration, the handout materials will be made available online.  Please be sure to print the documents and bring them along to the event.  Please login to see the supporting documents. Documents in this section are only available to users registered for this event.

A list of location and dates for the seminars can be found here: http://safetyauthority.ca/events/training_events

The construction industry accounted for the highest number of work related deaths in B.C. and Alberta last year, as labour unions and the provincial health and safety authority held ceremonies across the country to recognize and mourn workers, who died on the job.

“Today, we gather to remember 142 people who tragically lost their lives on the job in B.C.,” said Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government at a ceremony outside of the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 27.

“Along with their families, friends, and co-workers, we join together to remember, and to commit to doing even more to prevent these tragic workplace deaths from happening in the future.”

According to WorkSafeBC, 142 workers died due to their job in 2011.

Out of these fatalities, 71 were traumatic deaths and 71 were the result of occupational diseases, mainly from exposure to asbestos.The general construction sector recorded the most fatalities overall with 26, followed by 24 in transportation and 14 in mineral products.

via Lost workers remembered at ceremonies – Journal of Commerce.

Union leaders in B.C. and Alberta are upset with changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program that reduces the time it takes for employers to hire skilled trades people, but the Merit Contractors Association is applauding the federal initiative.

“This is a complete sell out to employers, who want access to cheap labour” said Tom Sigurdson, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council.

“These are vulnerable workers, many unable to speak English and unwilling to complain about unsafe workplaces and abuses to workplace rights.”

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSD) Diane Finley announced on April 25 that the federal government intends to make the TFW program more responsive to skilled labour shortages.

“Our government is looking at ways to make sure businesses recruit from the domestic workforce before hiring temporary foreign workers, while also reducing the paper burden and speeding up the processing time for employers that have short-term skilled labour needs,” said Finley during a tour of Advance Engineered Products Ltd.’s manufacturing facility in Nisku, Alberta.

Employers with a strong track record will receive an Accelerated-Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) within 10 business days.

If approved, it will allow them to hire temporary foreign workers in high-skill occupations, including the skilled trades.

via Unions decry temp worker rule changes – Journal of Commerce.

Day of Mourning • April 28, 2012

Across Canada, April 28 has been designated the Day of Mourning, a time when workers, families, employers, and others come together to remember those who have lost their lives to work-related incidents or occupational diseases.

Every year, WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Federation of Labour, and the Business Council of British Columbia co-host a public ceremony to honour the occasion.

Because April 28 falls on a weekend this year, a ceremony will be held at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver on Friday, April 27, at 10:30 a.m., to pay tribute to fallen workers. All are invited to attend.

WorkSafeBC will also be webcasting the Day of Mourning proceedings live on WorkSafeBC.com so that workers and others who cannot attend their local ceremonies can watch from anywhere in the world and be a part of the occasion.

via WorkSafeBC.com – Day of Mourning.

Locations:

DENVER, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — NYSE: TC TSX: TCM TSXV: TRX.WT

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. (the “Company” or “Thompson Creek”), a growing, diversified, North American mining company, today announced the completion of the mill expansion project at the Endako mine. As previously announced, commissioning of the Company’s new SAG/Ball mill and rougher flotation circuit was completed in early January, followed by a successful ramp-up to commercial production beginning February 1, 2012. The remaining construction work on the regrind circuit and the pebble crusher was completed in late March. The mill is meeting its design capacity throughput of approximately 55,000 tons per day. Concentrate and recovery grades continue to improve and are expected to meet design capacity in the second quarter of 2012. The existing 45-year old mill at the site has been shut down and will be left on care and maintenance.

For the first quarter of 2012, the Company expects to realize an operating loss primarily due to the start-up and commissioning of the new mill at the Endako mine. First quarter 2012 results are expected to include the Company’s 75% share of an aggregate lower-of-cost or market product inventory write-down at the Endako mine of approximately $12 million, approximately $3 million of the Company’s share of Endako commissioning and start-up costs that will be expensed through operating expenses (previously included in the Company’s share of total estimated capital expenditures of approximately C$500 million), together with significantly lower production, higher unit costs, higher unit depreciation and lower sales volumes and average realized prices compared to the first quarter of 2011. Significant stripping costs at the Thompson Creek mine, associated with the ongoing mine pit pushbacks, have been incurred and are expected to continue in the first half of 2012, which also contributed to the expected operating loss for the first quarter.

For the first quarter of 2012, the Company produced approximately 4.4 million pounds of molybdenum at an average cash cost of approximately $13.00 per pound produced (excluding commissioning and start-up costs at the Endako mine) and sold approximately 4.9 million pounds of molybdenum from its mines, for an average realized molybdenum sales price per pound for the quarter of approximately $14.75. For the first quarter of 2012, the Thompson Creek mine produced approximately 3.4 million pounds of molybdenum at a cash cost of approximately $10.35 per pound produced and the Company’s share of production from the Endako mine was approximately 1 million pounds of molybdenum for the first quarter at a cash cost of approximately $22.00 per pound produced.

via Thompson Creek Announces Completion of the Endako Mill Expansion Project and Preliminary First Quarter 2012 Production and Cash Cost Results – MarketWatch.