The 2024 Canada’s Safest Employers Awards were handed out on October 10, at a gala event held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto. This year, the lauded occupational health and safety awards program featured three individual awards and 17 company and team awards, including the SafeStart Award for Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers.
This SafeStart-sponsored award recognizes an organization in any industry that has innovated ways to put unique practices in place to engage, train and mentor young workers while also displaying exemplary health and safety practices specifically targeted to workers under the age of 25.
“SafeStart is proud to sponsor Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers Award. Protecting young workers is one of the most important—and challenging—tasks for safety professionals,” said Barb Tait, CEO of SafeStart. “We’re thrilled to recognize and celebrate organizations that go above and beyond to safeguard this vulnerable group of employees.”
And the winner of the SafeStart Award for Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers is the City of Barrie!
Not only do we want to congratulate the City of Barrie, but all of the excellence awardees in this category, including the City of Surrey, Flomax Compression, Green Infrastructure Partners, Kawartha Dairy Ltd., Modern Niagara, Pronghorn Controls, Rabcon Contractors Ltd. and SAT Consulting & Construction.
The awards process, from nomination to gala, was intense and meticulous. From February to April 2024 there was a call for nominations, which were verified by the Canada’s Safest Employers Awards team. Those who were shortlisted provided a more detailed submission. Excellence awardees in each category were selected from the shortlist and officially announced in August. From there, submissions from those excellence awardees were forwarded to an independent judging panel which determined the winners in each category by vote according to the relevant criteria. The winners were then announced at the gala event in Toronto.
Young workers experience a disproportionate rate of injury and harm, so it’s crucial that employers prioritize their safety. In addition to sponsoring the SafeStart Award for Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers, we’ve also produced a new guide to help you protect the newest members of your workforce by getting their first 90 days right.
Running through the onboarding checklist for new hires can be long and arduous, and it’s not uncommon for culture to get lost in the process. That can spell danger for young workers in particular. Download our free guide to the ins and outs of onboarding new workers and learn how to strengthen your organization’s culture while protecting the fresh faces on your team. From hazards to human factors, you’ll discover key tactics to bring people—especially young workers—up to speed on safety before they risk getting hurt on the job.