RM updates safety policies after provincial orders

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/05/2025 (299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Rural Municipality of Cornwallis has updated safety policies after a tip from the public led Workplace Safety and Health to inspect the administration office and issue more than a dozen improvement orders.

At a special meeting on May 1, council passed six new safety policies tied to working alone, personal protective equipment, inspections, powered equipment, violence and organizational safety.

The updates brought the RM into compliance with several improvement orders issued by the province following an inspection in February.

Acting reeve Terry Ross told the Sun the municipality has been working hard to bring itself up to speed.

One action was hiring a safety officer to lead the response.

“When we got the improvement order we really took it seriously,” Ross said in an interview earlier this month. “That was one of the first things we did was hire the safety officer to make sure we got it right.”

The orders included that the RM must create an inventory of asbestos-containing material in the building, provide asbestos-related training to staff, post safety policies in a visible place and ensure fire protection equipment is installed according to fire code.

A total of 20 improvement orders were issued with deadlines this year, a provincial spokesperson told the Sun. Six improvement orders remained open as of May 21, they said, with due dates scheduled up to and including June 19, 2025.

In an email to the Sun on May 21, the province confirmed that the February inspection at the RM was triggered by a tip from the public.

The spokesperson said that Workplace Safety and Health also returned to the RM about a month later, in April, proactively.

A former employee reached out to the Sun with complaints that the RM of Cornwallis had performed renovations in the office while the employee was working there, without testing for asbestos. The employee said that the process was disorganized and chaotic.

The employee said they did not want to disclose their name for fear of reprisal. The employee shared a photo of their desk during renovations, showing the office workspace crowded by other desks and office items draped in plastic sheets.

“There was no planning on safety for staff to work amongst the renovations,” the staff member said.

“Contractors were even in there working with personal protective equipment gear and staff was not even asked before renos started if we wanted protection.”

The RM of Cornwallis knocked down a large window-wall and replaced it with a wall and a door between September and October.

The renovation lasted about four to six weeks.

The former employee complained that the RM failed to test the pre-1990 building for asbestos before the renovation was carried out with staff in the building. Workplace Health and Safety noted the same in its report, and ordered the RM to have a professional come out and create an inventory of all items that have asbestos.

The RM released a statement later saying that the assessment of the building “verifies that there has been no asbestos exposure during the normal course of business nor during the recent construction activity.”

The RM’s statement said tiles in a vault and a small storage room were found to contain asbestos, but were undisturbed during the renovations, and so did not pose a threat of exposure.

Ross said council thought the contractors hired to do the job would identify whether they were working with asbestos-containing material. Looking back, he said it was a mistake that the council has ensured will never happen again through hiring the safety officer.

Interim CAO Holly Krysko said that when it comes to the renovations, the work was not risky. Krysko said the construction was more of a disturbance.

“It was disruptive, but I don’t think it was unsafe,” she said.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com