Today I participated in an important event which raises awareness on the need to make our workplaces injury and illness free. This afternoon, I was proud to raise the flag declaring this week as North American Occupational Safety and Health Week or NAOSH Week. I was joined by my honourable colleague, the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, and the local chapter of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers along with a number of companies who are leaders in occupational health and safety.

NAOSH Week occurs every year during the first week of May. Employees and employers across Canada, the United States and Mexico participate in events to promote a greater awareness for the importance of having safe workplaces. The Occupational Health and Safety Branch of the Department of Government Services is a proud participant of this week. We are here to work with employers and employees and are committed to doing our part to ensure safe workplaces.

This year�s theme is Safety and Health, A Commitment for Life. Start Today�Live It Every Day! This excellent theme reminds all of us that good health and safety practices need to become a way of life. We all need to make a commitment today to do our part in making our workplaces injury and illness free and incorporate safety at home or at play. Safety is not just for workplaces.

I want to congratulate the local chapter of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers who put a tremendous amount of work every year into promoting NAOSH Week. I am proud that this group was the pioneer of NAOSH Week. Their recognition of the benefits of improving attitudes towards safety quickly turned into a need to recognize this important issue across the rest of North America. Our safety professionals have shown that they are leaders in spreading the message about injury and illness prevention in our workplaces.

Workplaces all over the province are celebrating and recognizing NAOSH Week through many activities which promote safe work practices. I encourage everyone to do something in their workplaces this week which recognizes the importance of this issue.

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