President's and Managing Director’s Message


This annual report will serve to do two things. One it will provide you with highlights of what our clinics did last year to deliver on our mission of preventing occupational illness and injuries and promoting the highest degree of physical mental and social well being of all workers. And secondly it will outline through our message the improvements we’ve made to our operations in order for us to be able to deliver our mandates more effectively and efficiently.

Late last year the OHCOW Board of Directors approved a 3 year strategic plan for 2005-2007. That plan details our core business, outlines our strategic objectives and includes targets and indicators to measure success. Each clinic now has their own operational plan in place and every individual OHCOW staff member also has a work plan guiding their activities.

Needless to say occupational disease is OHCOW’s niche and core business. Heat stress an OHCOW initiative was last year embraced by all other health and safety associations as a central strategy. More than half of OHCOW’s interventions in 2004 were in small businesses. We worked with the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) to develop educational materials around occupational asthma. Clinics worked with schools assisting them with ergonomic issues.

With respect to promotion OHCOW worked with a number of medical schools promoting occupational health as a core component to be taught. We produced and widely distributed an occupational medicine newsletter for community physicians.

In all our work good communication and co-operation with all stakeholders are of vital importance. To that end we promoted the role of the organization to Provincial Cabinet Ministers, labour groups, post secondary institutions, medical institutions, community agencies and employers.

We continued to provide internships and placements for coop students in ergonomics, hygiene and occupational nursing around the province.

We participated in the Ministry of Labour’s (MOL) review of the asbestos regulation. We also worked with the MOL in reviewing new guidelines for lead and silica exposure in the construction trades.

OHCOW received considerable media coverage for its presentation to the WSIB’s Chair of the Occupational Disease Advisory Panel in which we argued that Ontario workers are facing a silent epidemic of occupational disease.

Media coverage was also secured for an article submitted to newspapers across the Province marking the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and in which OHCOW argued that after a quarter of a century there were still far too many work related deaths and injuries.

OHCOW held a very successful conference on ergonomics in partnership with the Worker’s Health and Safety Centre. Some 200 participants attended.

Other highlights from last year included:

· Occupational disease intake clinics were held in Peterborough, Owen Sound, Toronto and Thunder Bay. 

· Minister of Labour Chris Bentley announces that our Sarnia clinic would get regular funding

· OHCOW was invited to become a member of the WSIB’s Research Advisory Council- whose goal is to improve research utilization

· OHCOW asks Chief Coroner for Ontario to conduct inquests into occupational disease fatalities

· OHCOW provides input on Occupational Exposure Limits

· OHCOW participates in activities related to the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

· OHCOW promotes its services with Ontario’s 70 community health centres 


Our Board of Directors have been vital to our achievements over the past year and we would like to thank each and everyone of them for making OHCOW a more strategic and forward looking organization.

And lastly we’d like to thank the staff of OHCOW. Their commitment, diligence and principled approach were instrumental in ensuring that we meet our mandate and fulfill our potential. 


Lyle Hargrove                                                 Mary Cook
Chair of the Board                                                 Managing Director