Dust Explosion Westwego Louisiana - Essay Example

Various laws have been enacted in the US and Canada to ensure that the government’s commitment is not negotiable. Unfortunately, we have seen that there are situations where some of these policies are changed in order to accommodate the prevailing circumstances. An example is the Civil Liability Convention of 1969. This is an illustration of the cases where the legislative authority adjusted the policies in order to suit the prevailing conditions. I believe such an undertaking was done without proper consideration of the effect it has.

In this paper, an analysis will be undertaken to investigate the various laws that are related to safety and health in Canada and the USA. In the process of trying to ensure a healthy and safe environment, there are a number of laws that have been enacted so far. In this regard, one renowned regulatory body is the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). This body is in charge of regulating all the wastes related to fuel. The body enacts appropriate rules and ensures that compliance is achieved.

The body has also put in place inspection and testing programs to ensure that high standards are achieved and maintained. This is a very challenging responsibility even upon the regulatory body itself. This is because many people have developed unique approaches to violating some of the provisions that are given. Another law that was enacted so far as a strategy of dealing with the issue of safety and health concerns the risks brought about by mines. This was facilitated through the enactment of the MINER Act.

The Act was later amended in order to increase the penalty amount and include more requirements. This was amended because of the increased violations of the law. These violations were being undertaken by a number of mine operators. The increased level of violation of the laid standard was causing health-related complications to many people living around the mines. At the same time, mines were becoming unsafe for children living around. Therefore, the situation in itself demanded an intervention.

This is a demonstration of the roles that the government is expected to play. This is supposed to be achieved through various agencies. In doing this, the government will be achieving the basic responsibilities it is expected to perform.   In 2006, the Canadian Standards Association unveiled the Workplace Safety, Management Standard. This standard was aimed at protecting the workers at their various organizations from injury and related safety concerns. The law puts the responsibilities upon the organization to ensure they design and implement the safety standards.

These standards accommodate all issues related to the health and safety of employees. These issues include injuries, illness, fatalities, etc. (Professional Safety, 2006). This is aimed to be achieved through implementing the appropriate systems as proposed by the standard. Failure to implement such guidelines will attract severe penalties. For this reason, the role of the government is being manifested. How the government is intervening to make sure that proper guidelines are designed and implemented.

The government is playing an oversight role. This is important for the interest of the citizens and employees in particular. At the same time, Canada was doing this in order to boost its image in relation to international standards relating to employee safety.  As a matter of fact, Canada was ranked among the worst performers in relation to safeguarding employees’ safety and health. Therefore, the government was putting in a lot of effort to ensure that it restores a good image. This plus other legislation is an indication of Canada’s commitment to ensure the welfare of its employees.

From what has been learned, the country has realized the need to ensure that employees’ safety is guaranteed. Legislations whose intention is to facilitate the welfare of the employees have since increased in Canada. That is based on an understanding of the fact that healthy and safe employees are very productive. The non-government organizations have also joined hands to assist the government meets this objective.