The U.S. is not the only country in North America that’s holding a national election this fall. On October 14, Canadians will be going to the polls. Because so many of our members come from Canada, SafetyXChange has decided to profile the positions of the major parties on health and safety issues. And if you’re an American, we hope you’ll find this series useful as a rough orientation of what’s going on north of the border.

But first let me warn you: Finding out where the Canadian parties stand is really hard. As in the U.S., workplace health and safety is, at best, a marginal issue in the election. What’s more, in Canada, occupational health and safety is regulated by the provinces rather than the federal government. Consequently, the national elections are unlikely to have a direct impact on OHS enforcement. And Canadian elections are parliamentary. Although the parties have unifying principles, elections and candidates are influenced by local factors.

Finally, there’s this to consider: I’m an American and I don’t know that much about Canadian politics. So I may be in a bit over my head here. Still, I’ll do my best to paint the political picture. There are about half a dozen parties vying for seats in Parliament. This series will profile the three leading parties.

THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

The Conservatives—aka Torries—are the ruling party. Their leader is Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As their name indicates, the Conservatives occupy the right wing of Canadian politics. Like the Republicans in the U.S., the Conservatives are considered the advocates of big business and de-regulation. As such, they’re less aggressive than their rivals in promulgating and enforcing workplace health and safety regulations.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives are the only one of the major parties in Canada that hasn’t published a platform. So there are no officially articulated statements of Tory positions on workplace health and safety matters. However, their website lists among the party’s accomplishments in governing Canada since 2006 the creation of “a $300 million Chemical Management Plan to regulate chemicals harmful to human health and the environment.”

Here are the Conservatives’ positions on other issues:

Food Safety: A recent outbreak of listeriosis connected to tainted meat from Maple Leaf, one of the nation’s largest food packing companies, has unexpectedly thrust the issue of food safety to a prominent place on the electoral agenda. An internal review from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency revealed major holes in the food safety system including the lack of clear policies on issuing public warnings and mandatory recalls.

In responses to the political fallout from the report and criticism of its alleged over-reliance on the food industry to police itself, the Harper government blamed the deficiencies of the system on the previous Liberal government and pointed out that it has hired more than 200 additional food inspectors since coming to power.

No-Fault Compensation for Medical Mistakes: Improving the quality of medical care and improving patient safety is another important issue in the campaign. One of the questions is whether Canada should adopt a federal no-fault compensation system akin to workers’ compensation for patients who suffer as a result of medical mishaps. The Conservatives oppose the scheme because they claim it impinges on the provinces’ authority to regulate insurance.

Note: On Wednesday, we’ll look at the NDP.

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