Mississauga, ON, July 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), the oldest and largest health and safety association in Ontario, is today celebrating its 100th anniversary as a committed leader to enhance workplace safety culture.
Established as the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) in 1917 to give voice to workers in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, WSPS now provides health and safety consulting and solutions to the agricultural and service sectors as well.
“We’ve come a long way since 1917,” says Lynn Brownell, President & CEO of WSPS. “While we now take basic safety measures like fire-prevention sprinkler systems for granted, workers a hundred years ago did not enjoy the same safeguards. Going to work back then involved being exposed to high risk environments on a daily basis.”
Today, WSPS supports the workplace health and safety needs of over 165,000 businesses that employ more than 4 million Ontarians.
“Our history as an organization is very rich,” continues Brownell. “We’ve honored this legacy by bringing together health and safety expertise from three associations to create a dynamic professional team that is passionate about what we do. So, while our name has changed, our commitment has not. We will continue to work hard in close collaboration with our valued industry and government partners to create healthy and safe work environments where employees thrive and businesses prosper.”
“Our government is committed to helping ensure healthy, safe and harmonious workplaces, and we deeply value our partnership with WSPS in furthering this important work,” says Kevin Flynn, Ontario’s Minister of Labour. “With our continued collaboration, in support of workplace health and safety, we will keep building up our thriving and dynamic province.”
To read more about WSPS’s history visit http://www.wsps.ca/About-Us/Safety-100.aspx. Here you will also find congratulatory letters from Governor General David Johnston, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn, and Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn.
To view a short video of health and safety in Ontario then and now, please click here: https://vimeo.com/213723263
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About WSPS:
Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) is the largest health and safety association in Ontario, responsible for more than 165,000 member firms across the agriculture, industrial/manufacturing and service sectors. Our commitment to understand and respond to the health and safety needs of Ontario workplaces is unwavering. In 2017, WSPS is celebrating 100 years of keeping Ontario safe.
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7b3ea428-4117-4a5a-9706-f6b4f883fa32