Fort McMurray Wildfire and WCB Alberta Coverage
Fort McMurray Wildfire and WCB Alberta Coverage: The recent and ongoing wildfires in Northern Alberta have been devastating with far reaching effects, including Worker’s Compensation concerns for workers and employers. Should you have questions regarding any aspect of the WCB process or wish to discuss any specific issues or scenarios, please contact us directly at 1-844-377-9545 or by email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Failing to take control of your claim could result in an interruption of benefits or services resulting in unnecessary stress and frustration. The following information touches on some of the most common WCB related situations: Current Claims: If you have a current claim with either the WCB Alberta or a workers’ compensation organization in another province and have been displaced by the Alberta wildfires, you should contact your case manager or claim adjudicator as soon as possible regarding: Benefit payments – if you receive benefits by mail, provide […]
After the Alberta Wildfires: Rebuilding Fort McMurray Safely
Image: mikeledray / Shutterstock.com Although the immediate crisis may have passed in Fort McMurray and the surrounding area, the state of emergency is far from over. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done in order to get the 80,000 evacuees safely back to their own homes or resettled into new ones, and there is a great deal of pressure to get this done as quickly as possible. The path to rebuilding these communities will be long and involved. While still monitoring hot spots and further potential wildfires, there is a vast amount of demolition, cleanup, environmental testing and repairs that will need to be done before the rebuilding can truly begin. Infrastructures such as roadways, water, sewage, gas and power systems need to be repaired or restarted. Waste management facilities need to be ready to deal with the garbage, from food left in refrigerators and freezers with […]
Mental Health: The Connection Between Healthy Minds and Healthy Workplaces
It is not really a coincidence that Mental Health Week and North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week overlap. Recent focus on the awareness and acceptance of mental illness and the effects that stress has on our overall wellbeing, highlights the connection between workplace safety and a psychologically healthy work environment. Although NAOSH week focuses on all aspects of health and safety on the job, healthy minds are the foundation of healthy workplaces. A balanced, stress-free mind is better able to focus on the task at hand, which helps reduce of the risk of accident or injury on the job for everyone. Especially in tough economic times, the effects of stress and the incidence of mental illness become more prevalent as our ability to cope is tested and our emotional reserves are strained. That healthy, balanced, stress-free mind becomes increasingly difficult to attain and maintain, so it is more […]