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Annual Report 2000–2001

President’s Message

This report covers the third year of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission’s (HMIRC) renewal initiative. While the first two years of renewal were focused largely on planning the direction in which the Commission would evolve and consulting with our stakeholders, this year we have some strong achievements to report. The framework that will support our new way of doing business has emerged. The strategies we identified in our Blueprint for Change have either been implemented or are awaiting the necessary regulatory and legislative changes. We expect the necessary proposals to be ready by the fall of 2001.

We have put in place a new culture of service delivery, accountability in our operations, and modern administration. Better relationships, based on frequent and open communication, have begun to form with our stakeholders in industry, labour and government. As an organization, we have increased our visibility and presence, invited our clients to measure our performance against the renewal commitments we have made, become more accessible to stakeholders and have elevated the importance of information sharing. We are dealing with some long-standing industry concerns about fees and other operational issues by streamlining our procedures and proposing a new cost recovery structure to Treasury Board. And we are convinced that the steps we have taken to rethink our operations will only strengthen our ability to follow through on our commitment to workplace safety objectives.

I am proud of the work we have done. Through three years of renewal, the Commission has established itself as a viable organization that has strong support from all the HMIRC stakeholders. The process has brought us renewed vigour, which will stand us in good stead as we deal with the demands of the coming year.

For the last two years, since we began renewal, the number of claims filed with the Commission has significantly increased. While in part this reflects economic trends and conditions in the industry, I think that the new accessibility of the Commission may also be encouraging claimants to come forward. We have added to our scientific staff to help us address the backlog of claims, and we plan to reduce and ultimately eliminate the backlog over the next five years.

Another important factor in looking ahead is dealing with the issue of unfiled claims and how to detect material safety data sheets (MSDSs) that have not met Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) disclosure requirements and have not been filed with the Commission. We have begun to explore ways to strengthen our relationships with our occupational safety and health (OSH) partners in the provinces and territories, to gain a better understanding of the issues and challenges facing OSH agencies and work with them to identify unfiled claims and bring them into the system. This initiative will be one of our priorities in the next year.

Another will be to improve our Web site by adding new information and new e-business functions. We are exploring ways to implement e-payment and e-filing of claims. There will be some challenges here, especially in regard to security issues and monetary conversions, given our international clientele.

We will continue to put effort into steering through the approvals and legislative process of another renewal project that was very much driven by stakeholders—our new fee schedule. We know that industry found our old system complex, the fees disproportionate and refilings costly. Our proposal for a new policy is in line with Treasury Board’s 1997 Cost Recovery and Charging Policy, which distinguishes between activities for private benefit and public good, and has strong support from our stakeholders for the underlying principles and process.

Another important and long-term project is bringing our new dispute resolution process into effect. Our driving need here is to enhance worker safety by bringing industry into compliance earlier in the claims process. The sooner disputes are resolved, the sooner MSDSs will meet compliance standards, bringing more timely safety to the workplace. The new process, which had stakeholder input and has received approval from the HMIRC Council of Governors, involves increased communication between the Commission and claimants, more front-end information and guidance, new compliance options and a new role for a Commission official in appeal hearings. It is common sense to resolve issues and concerns before we get to the appeal stage. I believe the changes we are proposing will bring greater openness and efficiency, while helping to build relationships of trust, mutual respect and understanding with our stakeholders.

The final step in bringing these changes to fruition is amending the legislation and regulations in order to implement procedural changes. In 1988, the architects of the Commission’s statute couldn’t have envisaged the changes that the next 12 years would bring. Through dialogue and consultation, and based on the experience and wisdom accumulated over the years, the Commission now has a better idea of what works in today’s world. We have laid the groundwork, and now we are ready for the future.

In closing, I think it is appropriate to express my deep appreciation for the hard work, enthusiasm and commitment of the Commission’s staff in bringing our renewed organization into being. I would also like to thank all members of our Council of Governors for their encouragement, advice and support. Council support has been critical to our success. I have every faith that we will all continue to work successfully together during another productive year.

Weldon Newton