• R.B. Morley, 1921 – 1950
• R.G.D. Anderson, 1950 – 1969
• J.V. Findlay, 1976 – 1987
• Russ H. Ramsay, 1987-1995
• R.G. Loftus, 1969 – 1976
• Maureen Shaw, 1995 – 2009

R.B. Morley
General Manager, 1921 – 1950

R.B. Morley played a key role in the creation of IAPA and is credited with “building” the Association. Morley worked with the original 19 safety associations that amalgamated to form IAPA to ensure that the health and safety needs of the different industries would be met.

Morley came to IAPA after a career in banking, followed by seven years as manager of the Ontario Safety League, which was formed in 1913 to promote on-the-road safety.

From 1915 – 1921, Morley acted as a part-time secretary-treasurer for IAPA. He then became the first full-time general manager of IAPA in 1921, a position in which he stayed for the next 29 years.

R.G.D. Anderson was born in Alberta and his early business career was spent in the fields of sales and advertising in the paper, oil, and brewing industries, in Winnipeg, London, and Toronto. He initially began working with IAPA as a volunteer through his work as a director with the Food Products Class Association*.

Anderson would become chairman of IAPA’s Western Ontario Volunteer Division for a period of two years before becoming a vice-president of the Association’s executive governance committee, and then general manager of IAPA for 19 years.

He was also an original member of the Ontario Society of Safety Engineering, a past secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Industrial Safety Association, and served in the Second World War as an administrative officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Anderson also received a Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967, which was awarded to Canadians who were recommended by governments and associations for having provided valuable service to the country.


*Classes were what are now commonly referred to as industry groups and were comprised of IAPA member firms with similar operations that met to address sector-specific health and safety needs.

R.G. Loftus
General Manager, 1969 – 1976

R.G. Loftus first became involved with IAPA as a volunteer in 1950, before being named IAPA’s general manager. He credited his 23 years of work with Victory Soya Mills as having provided him with a strong grounding in the health and safety education needs of industrial establishments.

In 1973, Loftus would become the first vice-president of IAPA’s executive governance committee, in addition to his role as general manager of IAPA.

In 1984, Loftus was honoured by the Canada Safety Council for his campaign on the concept of loss control management and total commitment to the subject during his tenure at IAPA.

J.V. Findlay’s devotion to accident prevention began with a personal experience with a work-related accident. In 1954, Findlay was seriously hurt when he fell 12 feet down an elevator shaft. The seven months in which he was off work recuperating left him determined to eliminate workplace accidents.

Findlay’s first association with IAPA was as a volunteer as a Class 10 Metal Trades* director. He then joined the employment ranks of IAPA as assistant to the general manager in 1972, before being appointed general manager in 1976.

*Classes were what are now commonly referred to as industry groups and were comprised of IAPA member firms with similar operations that met to address sector-specific health and safety needs.

Russ H. Ramsay, IAPA’s fifth and last general manager, was a former minister of labour for the province of Ontario.

His political career began in 1978 when he was elected to the provincial legislature, representing the constituency of Sault Ste. Marie. Ramsay served as parliamentary assistant to the minister of labour from June 1980 – April 1981, after which he was appointed to the Cabinet as provincial secretary for Resources Development. In February of 1982, he was appointed minister of labour.

Between 1985 and 1987, Ramsay served as special consultant to Labour Canada in respect to the program for older worker adjustment, as well as chairman of the board for Ontario Health Discipline and president of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Council.

He was also affiliated with the broadcast industry for more than 30 years. Ramsay was president and general manager of Hyland Radio TV Limited and Lake Superior Cablevision Limited until August 1976 and vice-president and general manager of Huron Broadcasting Limited (operators of Lake Superior Cablevision) until December 1979. In addition, he at one time was president of the Central Canada Broadcasters’ Association and a board member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

Ramsay has been the recipient of numerous accolades. He was selected as the B’nai B’rith Society’s Citizen of the Year in 1967, received the second Howard Caine Memorial Award from the Central Canada Broadcasters Association in 1970, was inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975, and received the Medal of Merit from the Municipality of Sault Ste. Marie in 1978. In 1991, a sports gallery in the Sault Ste. Marie Museum was named the Russell H. Ramsay Sports History Hall of Fame Gallery. He was also the recipient of the commemorative medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Federation in 1992.

In 1993, Ramsay was inducted into the Order of Canada.

Maureen Shaw is a renowned advocate for occupational health and safety and her achievements in the field have been recognized nationally and internationally. Similar to former IAPA general manager, J.V. Findlay, Shaw has personal experience with the issue of health and safety in the workplace. Her father was a labourer in a sawmill in the 1940s and 1950s, who often took high-risk assignments for danger pay, and her son was injured on the job, resulting in the amputation of a limb. She believes that sustainable health and safety improvements will only happen when everyone believes it will.

Shaw has held numerous leadership positions within the health and safety community across Canada. Most notably, she has been chair of the Council of Governors and acting chief executive officer of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety; a former president of the Canadian Occupational Health Association, an affiliate of the International Commission on Occupational Health; chaired the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Council and Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Appeals Division; a founding director of both the Smart Risk and Safe Communities Foundations; and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Technical Standards & Safety Authority of Ontario.

Shaw is presently a member of the Board of Directors for the Radiation Safety Institute and
Skills Canada - Ontario; a member of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ Employment of Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee; vice-president of the Board for the International Society Security Association; and is chair of the Board of the Centre for Health & Safety Innovation.

Maureen Shaw is a recipient of the Calgary YWCA Woman of Distinction in Business, Labour and the Professions Award and the Canada Safety Council National Achievement Award. She is also the first recipient of the Canadian Medal of Merit Award from the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.

In 1992, Shaw was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation, also referred to as the Canada 125 Medal. The Canada 125 Medal honours Canadians who have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community, or the nation.

Born and raised in Victoria, B.C., Maureen Shaw calls herself a “real Canadian,” having lived in Calgary, Regina, Hamilton, and Toronto, as well as Victoria and Chemainus, B.C.