Paul Belair BASc, MBA, CRSP
BCRSP Governing Board Chair
Reducing workplace-related fatalities starts with understanding the importance of certification and empowering safety practitioners with the right education.
On the National Day of Mourning, the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) joins in grieving with families who have lost loved ones due to workplace tragedies and recognizes the suffering of those injured or made ill because of their work.
According to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, 993 Canadians died in workplace-related fatalities in 2022. As that number only covers workplaces providing provincial compensation benefits, the real number is likely far higher. “The real issue in addition to the number of deaths is what can be done to reduce them,” says Paul Belair, BCRSP Governing Board Chair.
Supporting public safety
The BCRSP develops comprehensive certification programs in support of public safety. The Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP®) and Canadian Registered Safety Technician (CRST®) certifications are accredited to the ISO/IEC 17024 standard. These certifications programs are designed to enable safety practitioners to prove their knowledge, skills, and abilities through a standardized assessment process. Since 1976, the BCRSP has been supporting the health and safety of workers in administering certification schemes that are a key tool for ensuring qualified professionals are overseeing safety in the workplace.
BCRSP-certified practitioners must meet a rigorous standard which includes academic, experiential, and examination requirements, abide by a code of ethics, and maintain certification through participation in a mandatory continuous professional development program.
The BCRSP is also a strong advocate across Canada for title protection for the safety profession. “Title protection is present in many other industries and considering the importance of the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession, the absence of title protection opens up the risk for employers and employees who are looking for sound safety advice,” says Belair.
A clear vision
The BCRSP’s vision is safe and healthy workplaces through certification. Theorganization works to the highest credentialling standards for Canada’s safety practitioners and seeks to continually advance the body of OHS knowledge, the competency of OHS practitioners, and the value that the OHS profession brings to society.
“Certification can really help make a difference within an organization and once an organization is aware of the value of a CRST® or CRSP® certified practitioner, they’ll rarely want to go back to hiring uncertified individuals in a safety role. Only positive things can come from the expectations that have been set around certifications and skilled practitioners working to support safe and healthy workplaces,” says Belair.
To find out more about the BCRSP and certification, visit bcrsp.ca.
