Gitanyow First Nation File for Judicial
Review on Ksi Lisims LNG
Gitanyow hereditary chiefs have filed for a judicial review of the Ksi Lisims LNG project, challenging the BC Environmental Assessment Office's ruling that they need not be consulted on the project.

The $9 billion Ksi Lisims project north of Prince Rupert is being advanced by a joint venture that includes the Nisga'a First Nation, Western LNG and Rockies LNG.

It is currently moving through the BC Environmental Assessment (EAO) process, and the pipeline that would feed it – the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line – also needs amendments to its environmental certificate, owing to a routing change. Read the BIV article.

B.C. Hydro's 1,100-MW Site C Begins Operations
with First Generating Unit Online
The first of six generating units on the Site C project has come into operation, following the required testing and commissioning process, B.C. Hydro said.

The remaining generating units will come into operation one-by-one. Each generating unit can provide more than 180 megawatts (MW) of power to BC Hydro customers. The Site C project remains on track to have all six generating units in service by fall 2025. Once complete, Site C will provide about 1,100 megawatts of capacity and produce about 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity each year, adding about eight percent more supply to British Columbia's electricity grid. Read the full article by Sean Wolfe in the Hydro Review.

Lightening the Land: Restoring Balance and the
Case for Indigenous Fire Management
Canada faces an escalating wildfire crisis. Year after year, uncontrolled flames consume vast landscapes and jeopardize the livelihoods of countless people and their communities. In 2023, 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned in British Columbia alone – the worst in the province's recorded history. This growing threat stands in stark contrast to the period before colonial disruption, when Indigenous peoples expertly managed the land through cultural burning. These deliberate, small-scale fires effectively cleared underbrush, nurtured biodiversity and ultimately fortified ecosystems against larger, more destructive wildfires.

In this context, fire was not an enemy to be feared but an effective stewardship tool. Indeed, the Tsilhqot'in word for fire translates to "lightening the load off the land." Yet, as colonialism tightened its grip over the Nation, cultural burning was not only disrupted but systematically dismantled, severing a relationship with fire that had successfully sustained the ecosystem for thousands of years. Worse still, studies predict a dramatic increase in forest fires for First Nation communities by the end of the 21st century, with major consequences such as structural and cultural losses, land alterations, and inherent social disruption. Read the full article by Nick Leeson and Alexys Santos with Woodward & Company LLP.

Operating in a Manner That Benefits the
Environment and Wider Society
A Senate bill that would expand the fiduciary duties of corporate directors and officers to include their company's social and environmental impacts is "very scary," some lawyers say.

Introduced last May, Bill S-285 proposes amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) to provide that a corporation's purpose is to pursue its best interests while also operating in a manner that "benefits the wider society and the environment" and "minimizes any harm that the corporation causes to the wider society and the environment." It states the objective should be eliminating environmental harm. Read the full article by Kevin Dougherty in the CBA National magazine.

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
The following Environmental Appeal Board decisions were made recently:

Environmental Management Act

• The Beaches Property Development Ltd. and Hay U Ranch Resort Inc. v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Final Decision – Appeals Allowed]
• Columere Park Developments Ltd. v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed; Penalty Reduced]

Water Sustainability Act

• B. Dinter Nursery Ltd. v. Water Manager [Dismissal Order – Appeal Dismissed]
• Beant Dhillon v. Assistant Water Manager [Dismissal Order – Appeal Dismissed]
• Robert and Jodi Lynne Couturier v. Assistant Water Manager [Dismissal Order – Appeal Dismissed]

Wildlife Act

• Nicholas Weigelt v. Director, Wildlife Act [Dismissal Order – Appeal Dismissed]

Visit the Environmental Appeal Board website for more information.

This Is Not a Drill: New First Aid Requirements under BC's
Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
Employers in British Columbia are legally obligated to provide their workers with "prompt, easily accessible and appropriate" first aid treatment. New amendments to Part 3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation ("OHSR"), which come into effect on November 1, 2024, redefine and expand the actions that employers must take in order to meet this obligation (the "Amendments").

Amendments to the OHSR

1. First Aid Training Standards
   First aid requirements in BC have remained largely unchanged for the past two decades despite improvements in first aid training and the development of first aid standards by the Canadian Standards Association ("CSA").
   
   The Amendments require that BC first aid certifications align with the CSA Workplace First Aid Certification Standard Z1210-17 ("Standard"). This means that Occupational First Aid Levels 1, 2 and 3 will become Basic, Intermediate and Advanced, respectively. There will be a transition period to allow employers time to implement these changes. Valid Level 1, 2 and 3 certificates will be considered valid for the purposes of the Amendments until they expire, up to November 1, 2027.

Read the full article by M. Ashley Mitchell and Lara Jung with Miller Thomson LLP.

New BC Tower Crane Requirements in Effect October 1, 2024
On October 1, 2024, WorkSafeBC introduced new regulations (the Crane Regulations) regarding tower crane safety which amend Part 14 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (the OHS Regulation) in British Columbia. The Crane Regulations will require every employer responsible for tower crane activity to submit a Notice of Project–Tower Crane (NOP-TC) to WorkSafeBC and to ensure a qualified supervisor is in place. The following discussion highlights the most significant changes to the OHS Regulation for crane operators and supervisors. This blog post is current to October 28, 2024. Read the full article by Simon Foxcroft, Mark Lewis, Jason Roth, Charlene Hiller, Hannah Johnston and Larissa Sakumoto with Bennett Jones LLP.

WorkSafeBC Fines Interior Health $275K after
Workers Exposed to Unknown Substance     
British Columbia's worker protection agency has fined the Interior Health Authority nearly $275,000 after hospital staff were exposed to an unknown substance. According to an April inspection report from WorkSafeBC, the agency investigated complaints from workers "following a potential exposure to illicit drugs" at Penticton General Hospital. Two workers became ill after a noxious odour was detected in a patient's room. Eight other workers were also treated for exposure. The agency fined Interior Health $274,073.89 in August. The report does not say what the substance was, but a summary of the fine posted on the WorkSafeBC website says the employer's procedure for responding to illicit substances had not been adequately communicated to workers and the employer failed to implement written procedures to minimize risks. Read the CBC article.

OHSR Amendments Impact Washroom Facilities at   
Construction Sites (Effective October 1^st)
– from WorkSafe BC
Employers at construction sites with 25 or more workers must provide flush toilets, handwashing facilities, and clean washrooms.

• The flush toilets may be plumbed or connected to a holding tank. Chemical or other types of toilets can only be provided as an alternative if the employer can demonstrate it's not practicable to comply with the requirement to provide flush toilets.
• The handwashing facilities must be in or near the enclosed space where toilets are situated.
• Washrooms must be maintained in proper working order and cleaned and sanitized regularly. Records of maintenance and cleaning activities must be kept for at least 30 days.

At a multiple-employer workplace, the duties of an employer also apply to the prime contractor. Read the WorkSafeBC news release.

BC Supreme Court Adjourns Case against Department of  
Fisheries and Oceans from Worker Injury
Lawsuit against government department, co-worker claims defendant suffered burns at employer's event The British Columbia Supreme Court has adjourned a case filed by one Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) employee and a co-worker over an incident that, she claimed, led to her injuries. Meghan Hull filed the civil lawsuit against her co-worker Brent Gregory back in July 2023, naming the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as a co-defendant, according to a report from Castanet. The incident happened on Oct. 21, 2021 at the employer's Halloween party, Hull claimed in her lawsuit, according to the report. At that time, both Hull and Gregory were working as fisheries technicians for DFO's Chinook Mark-Recapture Project. Read the full article by Jim Wilson with Canadian Occupational Health & Safety.

Why Head Protection Has Become a Head Scratcher
Study finds confusion and education gaps when it comes to helmets and hard hats

In a rapidly changing safety landscape, head protection is becoming a more complex and confusing issue for safety professionals. The latest collaborative study from J. J. Keller and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) sheds light on the pain points and challenges facing the industry, from educational gaps to regulatory confusion. As more innovative head protection options become available, it has become harder for safety professionals to make informed decisions. Cam Mackey is the CEO of ISEA and he points to the increasing complexity of standards and new technologies as significant factors. "A lot's changed over the last few years, and it's made head protection go from a straightforward product category to really devilishly complex." Additionally, confusion about regulatory standards further complicates the landscape. "Safety is a standards-driven business," Mackey explains. "We have this unique issue where some firms are asking for products that conform to both American standards and tiny clauses from European mountain climbing standards. That adds complexity." Read the full article by Shane Mercer with Canadian Occupational Safety.

2024–2026 Policy Workplans and 2024–2026 Occupational
Health and Safety Regulation Workplan
– from WorkSafe BC
The Policy, Regulation and Research Department (PRRD) consults with internal and external stakeholders to develop effective policies and regulations regarding occupational health and safety, compensation for injured/disabled workers and their dependants, and employer assessments. The PRRD also conducts annual consultation to establish workplans that set out policy and regulation related priorities for prevention, occupational health and safety, compensation and rehabilitation, and assessment matters. This feedback is reviewed by the PRRD and presented to WorkSafeBC's Board of Directors to determine the PRRD's policy priorities for the year. The PRRD currently maintains four workplans:

• Compensation and Occupational Disease Policy
• Assessment Policy
• OHS Policy
• OHS Regulation Workplan

OHS Policies/Guidelines – Updates

Guidelines – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation November 1, 2024
The following new and revised guidelines are consequential to amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation in effect on November 1, 2024:

• Part 3: Rights and Responsibilities – Occupational Health and Safety Programs
  • G3.1 Occupational health and safety program (revised)
• Part 3: Rights and Responsibilities – Occupational First Aid
  • G3.15-1 Nurses acting as first aid attendants in health care settings (revised)
  • G3.15-2 Registered nurses working for health authorities (new)
  • G3.15-3 EMA licence holders working as first aid attendants (revised)
  • G3.15(c) Proof of certification (revised)
  • G3.16 First aid assessment (revised)
  • G3.16(1) Minimum requirements for first aid equipment (revised)
  • G3.16(1)-2 Hospital and acute care facilities (revised)
  • G3.16(3) Reviewing first aid assessments (new)
  • G3.16(3.1) Involving workers in first aid assessment (new)
  • G3.17 Developing and implementing first aid procedures (revised)
  • G3.17(2) Communicating first aid procedures to workers (new)
  • G3.17(4) Drills (new)
  • G3.17.1 Air transportation (revised)
  • G3.18(2) Availability of first aid attendant (revised)
  • G3.19 First aid records (revised)
  • G3.20 Multiple-employer workplaces (revised)
  • G3.21(1) Suspension and cancellation of first aid certificates (revised)
  • G3.21(2) Attendant fit for duty (revised)
  • G3.21(3) First aid attendant responsibilities – Options for discharging responsibilities for care (new)

Editorial revisions were also made to the following guidelines:

• Guidelines – Workers Compensation Act
  • G-P1-2-4 Fire safety and prevention
  • G-P2-85-2 Approvals, acceptances, authorizations, or permissions under the OHS Regulation
• Guidelines – OHS Regulation
  • Part 20: Construction, Excavation and Demolition – Concrete Pumping G20.26.6 Operator certification

Visit the WorkSafeBC website to explore this and previous updates.