Press Release

April 16, 2009

Mississauga, Ontario – April 16, 2009 – IAPA is pleased to announce that Stratford Northwestern Secondary School of Stratford, Ontario is the winner of its LINK (Learning Innovative New Knowledge) drama competition. The runner-up is Norwood District High School of Norwood, Ontario. Stratford Northwestern Secondary School will perform their original dramatic production on young worker health and safety on Monday, April 20 and Norwood District High School will perform on Tuesday, April 21 at the LINK 2009 Youth Health & Safety Forum.  The forum is part of Health & Safety Canada 2009 and takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, Hall F.

Stratford Northwestern Secondary School’s winning performance was produced by students in its co-operative education program, under the direction of former drama teacher, Gail Fricker. The production features a co-op class learning about health and safety and has an audience participation component to it. As a result of the student’s efforts, the school will receive $1,000 towards their co-op program.

A teen watching various television programs modified with health and safety messages is the theme of Norwood District High School’s production. Norwood’s extra curricular Drama Club students worked very hard under the direction of Linda Waldack, Head of Mathematics and Drama Teacher.  The school’s drama department will receive $750 for their efforts.

Nine schools took part in this year’s LINK competition. The following schools will receive $500 plus a certificate of participation:

• Park Street Collegiate Institute, Orillia
• Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts, Windsor
• Wellington Heights Secondary School, Mount Forest
• Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph
• Durham Alternative Secondary School, Oshawa 
• Dryden High School, Dryden 
• Parry Sound High School, Parry Sound

In addition to the student productions, the LINK 2009 Youth Health & Safety Forum will feature an inspirational keynote address from Stacie Louttit and Marc Shaw, members of the 2008 Canadian Paralympic Sailing Team. Award-winning student videos from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, an interactive game show, and a personal story from Eric Olivieri, a young, injured worker are also part of the program.

IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association) is a not-for-profit, member-driven organization operating in Ontario since 1917. Representing approximately 50,000 member firms and more than 1.5 million Ontario workers, IAPA is Canada’s leader in workplace health, safety, and employee well-being. IAPA is focused on providing industry-leading training, consulting, educational products, and informational services that meet our members’ needs and the needs of those in their communities. IAPA is also recognized as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Occupational Health and an International Labour Organization – CIS Collaborating Centre. IAPA is ISO 9001 certified, has been awarded the National Quality Institute’s Progressive Excellence Program Level 4 for Quality Certificate and the Canada Awards for Excellence Gold Trophy Awards for Quality and Healthy Workplace.

ATTENTION MEDIA: IAPA is now accepting applications for the 2010 IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Awards for Excellence in Health and Safety Reporting. All Ontario trade and consumer media – print (newspapers or magazines), radio, and television – distributed and broadcast in Ontario are invited to submit pieces of work focusing on workplace health and safety. Universities and colleges are also invited to submit work in the Student Media print and radio categories. Only work published or aired between January 1 and December, 31, 2009 will be eligible. For award consideration, all materials must be submitted to IAPA by Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

For more information on IAPA’s programs, products, services, and awards programs, visit IAPA’s website at www.iapa.ca .

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For more information, contact:

Lena Wan
Communications and PR Specialist, IAPA                                 
Tel: 905-614-4272, ext. 2247 
E-mail: lwan@iapa.ca