IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR...

Is right where we want 2020 to remain. Someone once gave me a trinket that hangs from my rear-view mirror and says, “Don’t look back you aren’t going that way”. While this saying is helpful in keeping one’s focus in the present, there is another saying that is more appropriate to the current global circumstances.

The past is behind—we must learn from it

The future is ahead—we must prepare for it.

The present is now—we must live in it

If anything this past year has revealed, is to learn from our past and prepare for the future. Governments did little to be prepared for the pandemic even though SARS paved the way. In the midst, most governments everywhere are responding positively.

The same can be said for most Ontario employers. Faced with new health and safety standards, companies introduce preventative measures to avoid harm to their employees and employees’ families. The use of appropriate PPE, the requirement for social distancing and the necessity to require self-isolation or even lock down of their businesses.

All these steps are government man-dated. Even with government standards, people are still exposed. This is no more true than the Teeple Terrace event that took 2 lives and injured several others on December 11th, 2020. Were the government standards practiced at this construction site? The Ministry of Labour’s investigation is ongoing.

Were the safety practices at this site intact or was the approach to “kick the tires”? The two very different approaches to preventing injuries and fatalities in construction still exist. Upon reflection once the results of the investigation are completed, let’s hope that the injuries to and loss of life to the workers of the Teeple Terrace construction projection were not due to careless disregard for their safety.

Let’s learn from what has happened in 2020 to prepare for 2021. Let’s be mindful of our actions today.