Occupational Stress Injuries in Two Atlantic Provinces: A Policy Analysis
Abstract
Abstract
Although changes in occupational stress policy and legislation have drawn increasing attention in Central and Western Canada, relatively little is known about developments in the Atlantic region. In this article, we focus on examining legal reforms, specific policy, and collective bargaining agreement developments in the two Canadian Atlantic provinces that are currently publicly addressing the need for presumptive legislation: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. We focus on two occupational groups, police and correctional services, who have been cited in media and public discussions as focal points for legislative and policy reform because of the nature of their work. We assess how stress-related compensation and prevention laws are developing in Atlantic Canada and how occupational policies are moving in a similar direction across the country among these groups. We find that Atlantic Canada is moving relatively slowly to embrace the policy changes introduced by other provinces and the federal government, in terms of legal reforms, organizational policy, and collective bargaining language. We conclude that the lack of legal reforms in compensation, health, and safety law and the limited progress in occupational policies and collective agreements are mutually reinforcing the slow pace of change.
Résumé
Bien que les changements politiques et législatifs en matière de stress professionnel suscitent de plus en plus d’intérêt dans les provinces canadiennes du Centre et de l’Ouest, l’on en sait assez peu des progrès réalisés à ce chapitre dans la région de l’Atlantique. Les auteurs étudient l’évolution des réformes législatives, des politiques précises et des conventions collectives dans les deux provinces atlantiques canadiennes qui, à l’heure actuelle, se penchent publiquement sur la nécessité d’une loi présomptive : la Nouvelle-Écosse et Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Ils s’intéressent plus particulièrement à deux groupes professionnels, les services policiers et les services correctionnels, qui sont évoqués, dans les médias et les discussions publiques, comme étant la cible de la réforme législative et politique en raison de la nature du travail de ces services. Les auteurs évaluent de quelle façon les lois relatives à la rémunération et la prévention du stress professionnel évoluent dans les provinces atlantiques et comment les politiques professionnelles progressent dans le même sens à l’échelle du pays au sein de ces groupes. Ils constatent que la progression des provinces atlantiques vers l’adoption des changements de politiques instaurés par d’autres administrations provinciales et par l’administration fédérale est relativement lente en ce qui a trait aux réformes législatives, à la politique organisationnelle et au libellé des conventions collectives. Les auteurs concluent que l’absence de réformes législatives dans les domaines de la rémunération, de la santé et de la sécurité et les progrès mitigés dans les politiques professionnelles et les conventions collectives accentuent réciproquement la lenteur du rythme de changement.
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Canadian Public Policy
Volume 44 • Number 4 • December 2018
Pages: 384 - 399
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© Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de politiques.
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Published in print: December 2018
Published online: 4 January 2019
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Canadian Public Policy 2018 44:4, 384-399
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