B.C.'s first forest safety ombudsman is the right person for the job, says the author of a controversial report on tree-faller fatalities.
The BC Forest Safety Council, an industry-based organization, has appointed Roger Harris of Terrace to the post. A former Liberal provincial cabinet minister, Harris suffered a permanent disability while working as a faller 20 years ago.
Safety council executives hope his appointment will encourage companies and individuals to report safety infractions confidentially in the wake of 43 forestry-related deaths and 108 serious injuries that occurred in 2005.
Mike McKibbin, chairman of the Western Fallers Association, whose widely acclaimed report on deaths among tree fallers sparked increased safety measures, says his group is "overwhelmed" with the choice of Harris.
"No one thing is going to deal with the mess that this industry's in - but this is a step in the right direction, putting this guy in place," says McKibbin.
McKibbin, an independent tree-falling contractor who also lives in Terrace, says Harris did some unofficial ombudsman work for his crew about a year ago, when an employer refused to provide an ambulance on a dangerous site.
"He got wind of the problem that we were having and he ironed it out overnight," says McKibbin.
He adds Harris will boost already rising "peer pressure" to report unsafe practices, because no company will want to be identified as unsafe in his report.
After starting out as a logging camp dishwasher when he was 18, Harris became in turn a logger, a union leader, an executive with forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel, and a logging company owner before entering B.C. politics. He later served as minister of state for forestry operations, a junior cabinet portfolio during Premier Gordon Campbell's first term, until he lost his Skeena MLA post in last May's election.
"I think my experience is such that I see the industry from all sides," says Harris. "I hope that will be a very valuable asset."
Harris partially severed his hand when a chainsaw suddenly kicked back as he was falling a tree in the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1986. His brother-in-law was killed in a logging accident at the age of 18.
Harris, who does not blame anyone for his injury, said his success depends on how comfortable people are in reporting safety concerns to him. He said confidentiality is the one thing that's been missing when the industry has attempted to deal with safety issues.
Council chairman Jim Shepherd says the ombudsman's position was created so that individuals and companies could discuss safety as openly and freely as possible.
"To put it bluntly, people worry that they'll lose their jobs or contracts if they ask questions," says Shepherd, who is also president and CEO of Vancouver-based Canfor Corp.
Council CEO Tanner Elton says Harris will file an annual report that will be made public. The ombudsman will also report informally to the safety council at least three other times during the year, but his decisions will not have any legal bearing on workers' compensation cases, collective agreements or other dispute-resolution mechanisms.
"This is not a government appointment," says Shepherd. "It is to help our sector improve safety communication and deal frankly with these issues."
The safety council has allocated $150,000 this year for the ombudsman's office, which will be located at the council's headquarters but separate from its other staff in order to ensure impartiality.
Harris continues to live in Terrace and travels around the province.
So far this year, four forestry workers have died on the job, compared to 12 at the same time last year, says Elton.
The council has also introduced a "safe companies" program, which encourages firms to implement safety policies, programs and training, and has deployed safety advocates to help firms and independent contractors become safe companies.
(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)
