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Ministry of Labour checks in with Algoma District School Board

The Ministry of Labour has inspected all of the local secondary schools in the Algoma District School Board and they have all received a passing grade.
Brad Coccimiglio
Brad Coccimiglio
The Ministry of Labour has inspected all of the local secondary schools in the Algoma District School Board and they have all received a passing grade.
 
The Ministry stepped in following an incident in an Ottawa-area high school last May where an explosion in an auto shop class killed an 18-year-old student.
 
Four other students and a teacher were hospitalized in the incident.
 
The Ministry of Labour  has checked schools across the province, specifically checking tech, art and science labs, to “ensure they are meeting the minimum requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations.'
 
The inspections focused on a two specific areas in the schools:
 
Internal Responsibility System
  • Duties of supervisor
  • Training of Principals/Vice Principals and their duties under the OHSA
  • JHSC requirements
  • Risk assessment protocols in which inspectors checked to ensure that all new ideas and concepts for courses are assessed of the risks associated with hands on activities conducted by teachers, non-teaching staff and students in technological education, science and possibly art departments.
Possible Hazards in Tech shops and Science Labs
  • Ventilation; Fume Hoods; Chemical Storage
  • Personal Protective Equipment; Eye Wash Stations
  • Machine Guarding; Storage and dispensing of flammable liquids
  • Automotive Hoists; Compressed gases
  • Welding; WHIMIS training MSDS
  • Certificate of Qualification – O. Reg 572/99 (All teachers who work on plated cars should be an Automotive Service Technician)
ADSB Superintendent Joe Santa Maria told the board of trustees at their monthly committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday night that all of the board schools had been inspected and received positive reports.
 
The inspections took place in January and the recommendations of the Ministry have already been put into place.
 
The recommendations included minor issues such as making Material Safety Data Sheets more visible in some cases as well as adding an eye wash station in another instance.

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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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