Albertans can now see information about worksite injuries and fatalities involving more than 140,000 employers insured by the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB). Alberta is believed to be the first province in Canada to publicly release a comprehensive list of employers' safety records.

"Albertans have the right to know the injury record of who they are working for," said Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Employment and Immigration. "We hope that making this information public will encourage employers to commit to even better health and safety performance."

The release of these records is part of the Alberta government's 10-point plan for achieving greater transparency and accountability for occupational health and safety in the province. The template for this information was released in August to give employers time to prepare.

The records include more information than what is currently provided by any other jurisdiction in Canada, according to a statement from the ministry.

Albertans can now see the following information for each employer:
• Number of lost-time claims;
• Estimated number of employees;
• Lost-time claim rate;
• Number of fatalities;
• If the employer holds a Certificate of Recognition; and
• Industry- and province-wide lost-time claim rates for comparison purposes.

The employers' injury records can be found online at www.employment.alberta.ca/employerrecords.

"We hope that shining a light on employer records will improve competitiveness," said Lukaszuk. "A safe company is able to attract and retain talented workers, pay lower WCB premiums, and be more productive."