Canadian business and union leaders say strides are being made to reduce workplace accidents - but more must be done.

Pat Dillon, business manager for the Provincial Building and Construction Trades' Council of Ontario, says he is pleased with the approach the government is taking in this province.

The province has set an objective of reducing workplace injuries by 20 per cent by 2007, he says.

"They have hired 100 new inspectors and are currently interviewing another 100 inspectors to make sure safety regulations are observed on the worksites," Dillon says.

"These new inspectors will be trained for the purpose of ticketing employees and employers not following safety procedures."

Statistics reveal that for the years 2002 to 2004, serious injuries in the workplace dropped 43 per cent. "Those numbers are dramatic and we are very pleased with the major downward trend," Dillon adds.

"We're happier with what this government is doing than the previous government. It won't be long before it has an impact on job safety on construction sites. This is a major step in the right direction for employers and for employees."

Enzo Garritano, manager of technical services for the Construction Safety Association of Ontario, says the number of serious workplace accidents began to rise in mid-2003 - spurring a new program to warn employees and employers of the dangers of not being safe on the job.

"We had a lot of fatalities due to falling and people not wearing the proper protection," he explains.

More than 500,000 posters promoting workplace safety were sent out to workers and employers, which Garritano says had a positive impact. Last year, the association reported 20 fatalities compared with 30 in 2003.

The picture is different in British Columbia, where the number of on-the-job deaths this year has already exceeded last year's total.

Statistics supplied by the Workers' Compensation Board of B.C. (WCB) show that for the first five months of this year, 30 people died in workplace accidents compared with 26 workers in 2004.

But Donna Freeman, manager of corporate and public affairs for the WCB, says the numbers don't reveal the true picture.

Of the 30 fatalities this year, five involved workers who died in an airplane accident en route to their jobs, she notes.

She also says the WCB has hired another 12 safety inspectors this year.

Wayne Peppard, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Territory Building Trades Council, says B.C. is taking a self-regulatory approach to meeting safety standards in its $60-billion-plus construction industry.

But this approach is dangerous, say Peppard and other observers.

Onsite inspections in 2003 (the latest statistics available) dropped by 18.1 per cent compared with 2002. But accident investigations rose by 35 per cent, he notes.

"That suggests one thing - and that is that accidents are up significantly," Peppard says.

"If there are more investigations, there are more fatal accidents. They are as high as they have ever been in two years."

Peppard says educational programs by the WCB in B.C. - designed to educate employers, contractors and employees about safety on the job - are also on the decline.

"The trend in B.C. is radically going in the wrong direction," he says, noting his group and the B.C. Federation of Labour have raised concerns with the provincial department.

"To be fair, they have a program aimed at the youth in the industry and ... I give them credit for that."

He also says his group has been in touch with the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Organizing Committee over safety issues, but says ongoing discussions are moving at a "glacial speed."

He adds they are interested in adopting a zero-tolerance policy of safety on construction sites.

"The policy is prevalent in the U.S. and has an impact in industries that have a regular, constant workforce and management, but that is not the case in construction. We need to educate the younger people and develop a culture of safety," adds Peppard.

He notes a recent public opinion poll on safety in the construction industry shows the public believes traumatic accidents and fatalities are part and parcel of the construction industry. "That's totally unacceptable and wrong."

The poll showed 60 per cent of Canadians felt that workplace accidents were a part of life, a figure that rose to 67 per cent in B.C., the highest in the country.

The problems now facing the B.C. industry had their genesis when the pro-business Liberal government came into power, Peppard believes.

"They campaigned on a policy of reducing rules and regulations by 30 per cent. Furthermore, there used to be a co-ordinated effort by the federal and B.C. government to track down contractors who were not paying their taxes, their employment insurance monies and WCB premiums.

"That is no longer the case because B.C. pulled out and the federal government only has a skeleton staff trying to deal with its side."

He also is concerned that the underground economy for construction, which used to plague the housing sector due to a shortage of available workers, has moved into the industrial, commercial and institutional side of the business.

"That means anyone working for such a contractor is not covered by WCB, and when they get injured, it is the taxpayer who picks up the bill. Most contractors are good, but there are enough bad ones out there that it causes a serious problem."

(George Froehlich can be reached at george@businessedge.ca)