Occupational Stress Injuries in Two Atlantic Provinces: A Policy Analysis

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.