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The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent, non-profit research organization, has released a report titled "Success is No Accident: Declining Workplace Safety Among Federal Jurisdiction Employers" (pdf), criticizing the government's efforts to ensure the health and safety of workers in the federal jurisdiction.

The Report notes that while the fatality and injury rates in the provincial sector have declined 25% from 2002 to 2007, federal injury rates have risen 5% over the same time period. The increase is particularly startling in light of the large number of office workers in the federal jurisdiction. The Report attributes the rise in injury rates to the fact that federal health and safety authorities have not made a concerted effort to target high risk workplaces, set injury reduction targets, and hire more inspectors to inspect workplaces to, as the Report's author puts it, "keep offending employers in line". The Report recommends, among other things, more pro-active enforcement and harsher penalties for federally regulated employers who are governed in occupational health and safety matters under Part II of the Canada Labour Code (R.S.C.1985, c. L-2).

For more information on Report or its recommendations, please see Heenan Blaikie's OHS & Workers' Compensation Management Update "Think Tank Report Critical of Federal Occupational Health & Safety Enforcement" (pdf).