I would like to take this opportunity to inform the Members of this Honourable House about a new social marketing campaign that the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission is implementing to raise awareness about the importance of  workplace safety. The need is clear when each year thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians suffer job-related injuries and illnesses at work. It is also fitting given that this is North American Occupational Safety and Health Week.

For the past four years, the Commission has increased public awareness about workplace health and safety, and the prevention of injuries. Building upon this work, the new SAFE Work campaign strengthens the focus on injury prevention through a series of new television commercials that began last week.

SAFE Work will enable the Commission to better engage the public and move from raising awareness to putting forth a call for action. The fundamental message being conveyed is that simple everyday actions undertaken in the workplace can prevent an injury.

The campaign will complement existing Commission prevention initiatives including, the employer incentive PRIME program, the CEO Leadership Charter and the injury prevention workshop series. The new social marketing campaign was developed in partnership with the Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island worker�s compensation boards.

The Commission has found that the previous awareness campaign had a positive and successful impact in getting injury prevention messages into the workplace. The research shows that over 70 per cent of people in our province recall seeing the campaign and agreed it made them think about workplace safety. We are also seeing positive improvements in the lost-time incidence rate, which between 2000 and 2007 has fallen by 38 per cent. The new SAFE Work campaign goes a step further. It demonstrates how to eliminate injuries at work and at home by placing an active focus on spotting the hazard and then removing it.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Commission is providing the necessary leadership to promote workplace health and safety and prevent and reduce workplace injuries. The goal is to create safe environments and greater awareness resulting in zero injuries and fatalities on the job.

When we focus on creating a safety culture in Newfoundland and Labrador, we help reduce the human and financial toll of workplace injuries. After all, workplace injuries impact our families, our colleagues and the community at large. Workplace safety must be a top priority for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.