Ottawa - June 25, 2010

Government of Canada launches a safety review of vans used for student transportation

OTTAWA — Canada’s Transport Minister John Baird finally announced today a review of the safety standards applicable to 15-passenger vans, a move that will increase awareness of passenger safety among school board authorities.

“Extracurricular school activities are part of the fabric of Canadian society, and the Government of Canada is taking an important step today to improve the safety of field and sports trips across the country,” said Baird. “By launching this review, we can determine the best safety options for students during their trips and help to prevent tragedies on our roads.”

This safety review will include:

• consultation with provincial and territorial governments;
• an assessment of the safety and stability of extracurricular activity vehicles, including 15-passenger vans and another category called multi-function activity buses; and
• brake testing and testing to determine the vehicle rollover threshold.

As part of the consultation, the Government of Canada will seek input from provinces and territories on improving 15-passenger van safety. The issue will be discussed at the Council of Ministers meeting in September 2010 in Halifax, which will bring together the provincial, territorial and federal governments.

The provinces and territories, which share in the responsibility for road safety, regulate the use of vehicles used within their jurisdictions for school and sports activities. Upon completion of the review, Transport Canada will undertake a safety awareness campaign to heighten knowledge of the safe use of 15-passenger vans. Transport Canada will continue to work with its provincial and territorial partners, and manufacturers, along with New Brunswick Member of Parliament Yvon Godin who has proposed legislation on the issue, to improve the safety of all vehicles in Canada.

Student transportation: New Democrats, Labour support Transport Canada safety review

Mon 28 Jun 2010

OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Yvon Godin (Acadie–Bathurst) welcomed Transport Canada’s decision to review the safety standards for 15-passenger vans.

“On January 12, 2008, seven students from Bathurst High School and their adult chaperone were killed in a 15-passenger van,” said Mr. Godin. “These vans have serious problems that make them unsafe for transporting passengers.”

Several provinces have already banned the use of the vans for student transportation, and awareness campaigns have been conducted across Canada to inform the public of their dangers. The families of the students who died in the Bathurst accident have worked tirelessly to achieve a nationwide ban on the vehicles. Mr. Godin is pleased to see that their efforts are resulting in action.

Transport Canada’s security review will include such steps as evaluating the safety and stability of 15-passenger vans as well as brake tests and rollover threshold tests. “This testing will show once and for all that these vehicles are not safe for transporting passengers,” said Mr. Godin.

The MP for Acadie–Bathurst assured the Minister of Transport of his full cooperation to accelerate the decision-making process. Last month, Mr. Godin tabled Bill C-522, which would ban the use of these deadly vehicles. Ms. Isabelle Hains, the mother of one of the victims of the Boys in Red tragedy in Bathurst, as well as Ms. Stella Gurr of Nanaimo, who also lost her son in an accident involving a 15 passenger van, support this bill.

In September, 2009, in letters to local MPs and MLAs, as well as School Districts 68, 69, and 79, by NDDLC President Ellen Oxman, the Nanaimo, Duncan & District Labour Council called on local school boards, the Provincial Ministy of Education and Transport Canada to ban the use of 15 passenger vans for transporting children.

In her letter, Oxman pointed out that 15 passenger vans were originally designed as cargo vehicles and that 12-and15-seat vans lack the passenger protections, such as reinforced steel frames and laminated side windows, common on many other vehicles, particularly school buses. They also have a high centre of gravity and are more prone to rollovers than any other vehicle on the road, according to the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Bryan Murphy, who represents the Canadian Union of Public Employees on his school district’s safety committee, said he has toured the province, after being asked by the union’s B.C. leaders to speak to schools and parents about the threats posed by the vans. More than half of the school districts in B.C., and many others across Canada, use the vans to transport children to extracurricular events. Murphy was present in Ottawa when Godin introduced his bill.

2010 Day of Mourning Ceremonies in Nanaimo and Parksville

Chris Warburton, at right,  from Worksafe BC speaking to the Day of Mourning Service in Nanaimo. He pointed out that even with reductions
in the total number of deaths over last year in BC, there were still 121 workers killed because they went to work.






















Nick Perry, a young worker seriously injured in a forklift accident at nineteen, related how the lack of training and awareness led to the accident that broke his spinal column. Nick, above, was nineteen years old when he went to work in a building supply store in Victoria. When he began work, he was "trained" for fifteen minutes in operating equipment in the store. He had no idea he could or should refuse to do unsafe work, and six months later was seriously injured when a load of heavy sheets of building material fell on him as he was trying to secure it. It took him extensive surgery that included bone grafts and replacement disc in his spinal column. It took him three years to begin walking again, and still has to wear leg braces. Today, he travels for Worksafe BC, telling young workers about the hazards on the job.



Kip Wood, President of the Nanaimo District Teachers Association, said it 

shouldn't take the death of 29 coal miners in West Virginia to focus our attention on workplace safety.

Alison Thompson of the BC Forest Safety Council


Shown at left, Helmut Neumann, a retired CUPE 401 member has been coming to the Day of Mourning ceremonies since they began in 1984.

He was Chair of the local's safety committee for many years.

Parksville Day of Mourning Ceremony

Harvey Lalonde from CUPE 3570 introduced the  speakers at the 2010 Day of Mourning Ceremony in Parksville April 28.

Lalonde, who has organized the annual service for the past five years, introduced Dave Thompson, representing MLA Scott Fraser, the acting Mayor Sue Powell,
Nick Perry and  Mike Milholme from WorkSafe BC, and Bob Smits from the Nanaimo, Duncan & District Labour Council.

Dave Thompson for Scott Fraser                        Acting Mayor Sue Powell



















Mike Milholme, from WorkSafe BC, above, and Nick Perry, Young Worker Advocate, left.



Bob Smits, from the Nanaimo, Duncan & District Labour Council, called on those present to call or write their MLAs and MPs to insist that employers criminally responsible for workplace deaths and injuries be criminally prosecuted and sent to jail if convicted. It's the only way, he said, that employers will stop regarding deaths and injuries as the cost of doing business.

Labour Council Calls On School Boards, Ministry of Education, and Transport Canada to Ban Use of 15 Passenger Vans

September 25,2009 Nanaimo BC

Letters were sent this week to local MPs and MLAs, as well as School Districts 68, 69, and 79, by NDDLC President Ellen Oxman, calling on local school boards, the Provincial Ministy of Education and Transport Canada to ban the use of 15 passenger vans for transporting children.

In her letter, Oxman points out that 15 passenger vans were originally designed as cargo vehicles and that 12-and15-seat vans lack the passenger protections, such as reinforced steel frames and laminated side windows, common on many other vehicles, particularly school buses. They also have a high centre of gravity and are more prone to rollovers than any other vehicle on the road, according to the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The U.S. National Traffic Safety Board says 15-passenger vans handling characteristics change when fully loaded, that fully loaded 15-passenger vans are 40% more likely to roll then fully loaded mini-vans, and that sudden vehicle maneuvers could increase the propensity to roll over.

In her letter, Oxman says  the  crash that killed 7 members of a Bathurst high school basketball team and their teacher highlights the danger of transporting students and staff in vehicles that are most dangerous when full. In addition, she said, in many cases the vehicles are privately owned and maintained, and are often driven by persons with only a Class 4 license, not a professional driver.

She went on to say twelve-and-fifteen-passenger vans are considered so unsafe they are banned for the transport of children in more than 30 U.S. states, and that U.S. law also outlaws the sale of the vans to schools and daycares. In Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, these vehicles are banned or restricted for transporting students.

Transport Canada Negligent Says Expert

“Transport Canada has not issued any recommendations against using these vans. They’re passing responsibility to the provinces and the school districts, and I think that’s short-sighted thinking,” said Bryan Murphy, a licensed vehicle inspector who works as a school bus mechanic and driver with School District 68 in Nanaimo. “Transport Canada is negligent in not addressing this issue and bringing it to public attention.”

Seven high-school basketball students and a teacher were killed in 2008 when their 15-passenger van slammed into a transport truck in New Brunswick.

A coroner’s inquest into the tragedy recommended that 15-passenger vans — called “death traps” by a U.S. consumer watchdog agency — banned for student travel across Canada.

“I don’t want to see more blood on our highways before people are finally made aware of the dangers of these vans, but it seems that’s what it will take,” said Murphy.

Murphy, who represents the Canadian Union of Public Employees on his school district’s safety committee, said he has been asked by the union’s B.C. leaders to begin a tour of the province, speaking to schools and parents about the threats posed by the vans.

More than half of the school districts in B.C., and many others across Canada, use the vans to transport children to extracurricular events.

Because they were originally designed as cargo vehicles, 12-and15-seat vans lack the passenger protections, such as reinforced steel frames and laminated side windows, common on many other vehicles, particularly school buses.

They also have a high centre of gravity and are more prone to rollovers than any other vehicle on the road, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .

Cowichan Teachers Protest Use of Unsafe Vans

Teachers in the Cowichan Valley have complained that, far from directing BC School Districts not to use dangerously unstable 15 passenger vans, the ministry has left the decision up to individual school boards. Cowichan teachers complain that despite the knowledge of there dangerous instability, their district continues to use these unsafe vehicles to transport students for extra curricular activities - with volunteer private operators with only class 4 licenses instead of professional drivers.  

Daylight Savings Time Changeover Causes Accidents



ucs/CALM

After DAYLIGHT saving time in March, the number of workplace accidents spike, according to two Michigan State University researchers.

In a report in EHS Today magazine, the researchers found in two separate studies that the March switch to daylight saving time results in 40 minutes less sleep for workers, a 5.7 per cent increase in workplace injuries and nearIy 68 per
cent more work days lost to injuries.

Researchers Christopher Barnes and David Wagner, both doctoral candidates studying industrial and organizational psychology, found no signicant increase in workpIace accidents or sleep loss, however, when the clocks were set back an hour in November.

Does losing one hour of sleep really make a difference? According to Barnes, it does. "Studies have shown that lost sleep causes attention levels to drop off," he said, and stressed that the impact could be greatest in jobs requiring a high level of attention to detail.

Other research supports the findings. A University of British Columbia study using data from the Canadian Ministry of Transport found that when Canada went into daylight saving time, there was an eight per cent increase risk of accidents on the Monday after the changeover.

A similar study, using information from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cited sleep deprivation as the most likely cause of a 1 .6 per cent increase in accidents on the Monday following the tîme change.

Barnes pointed out that it is not uncommon for people to complain how tired they are when they lose sleep. Many people adjust to a pace where events recur regularIy and they can be adversely affected when that schedule is disrupted. An obvious example is jet lag, which occurs when people travel across several time zones. "Their internal clocks need some recovery time for these kinds of disruptions," says Wagner.


H1N1 Prevention:

At our September council meeting Sister Smits made a brief presentation on the dangers of H1N1 (Swine flu). She began by describing H1N1 as a respiratory disease that attacks the nose, throat and lungs. H1N1 influenza is caused by a new virus first recognized in April 2009 and now spreading rapidly around the world. It is not the same as swine flu, which is a virus pigs get, nor the same as the seasonal flu which occurs every winter in winter and early spring. But H1N1 flu causes symptons that are like those of seasonal flu, is spread like seasonal flu, and can be prevented like seasonal flu.

HiN1 flu symptoms are like seasonal flu – fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills, runny nose and a feeling very tired. It is very serious – local people have died of it. It spreads because the flu virus is in the wet spray that comes from the nose and mouth of someone who coughs or sneezes. If you're close enough – 1 to 2 metres (3 to 6 feet) when they cough or sneeze you can breath in the virus and get sick. Symptoms start usually 2 days after breathing it in.

It spreads easily from person to person. You can get it from doorknobs and phones or computer keyboards, as long as the droplets are still wet. Adults can spread the flu from a day before symptoms appear to about 1 week later, and children even longer.

Treatment for H1N1

If you get sick, drink plenty of fluids, plenty of rest, eat healthy food, wash your hands frequently and stay home to avoid spreading it to other people. See your doctor for drugs to treat H1N1.

Prevention

There is a vaccine for H1N1 flu and it will be available this fall. Most people will need two shots, separated by three weeks or so. Getting flu vaccine will not give you the flu or any other illness.

Who should get vaccine – pregnant women, people who live with or care for infants less than 6 months old, including parents, siblings and daycare providers, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, and those aged 2 to 64 who already have medical conditions that put them at higher risk.

How do I protect myself?

Get vaccinated when the vaccine is available.

Wash your hands often with soap and water or use alcohol based hand gel.

Cough or sneeze into a kleenex, toss it in the garbage and wash your hands. Wash you hands before you touch your eyes, nose or mouth.

Clean surfaces that might get flu virus on them like door knobs, phones, faucets, toys and keyboards with regular household cleaner.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Those with young children or a weak immune system should avoid crowds.

Stay home from work and school if you get sick with a flu like illness and avoid contact with others so the flu does not spread. Stay home until you're free of fever for at least 24 hours after your last dose of fever reducing medication like Tylenol, Advil, or Motrin.

Sister Smits urged everyone to get vaccinated.