The Niagara Regional Labour Council is holding the 10 day WHSC Instructor Training July 13-17 and July 20-24, 2026 at the Best Western St. Catharines Hotel & Conference Centre, 2 North Service Rd, St. Catharines.

The WHDSC Instructor Training Program provides an important base of knowledge and helps sharpen the skills important to the adult education process. Graduates of this program can go on to deliver Works Health & Safety Centre programs.

Benefits to becoming a WHSC-qualified instructor are many:

Claim the status of a trainer for Ontario’s official government-designated health and safety training centre, plus the knowledge, skills, and confidence that come with it.

Help co-workers, supervisors, employers, joint health & safety committees, worker health & safety reps, and/or worker trades committees, to understand and fulfill their health & safety rights and responsibilities.

Support organizational prevention efforts to achieve safer, healthier work.

Ability to instruct health & safety courses in your workplace or your organization and beyond…

*Registrants will be contacted by a WHSC training representatives to discuss logistics and overview of what to expect with instructor training and possible future pre-requisite.

Registration is $1200 per participant
(lunches and a celebration graduation dinner included)

Cheques payable to:
Niagara Regional Labour Council, PO Box 42, Thorold, Ontario, L2V 3Y7

**We do not accept e-transfer or credit card**

For registration details, including group discount code for booking rooms at the Best Western, please email us at NRLC.CLC@gmail.com

FIRM DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS JUNE 12, 2026

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Each year the Niagara Regional Labour Council takes time to have observances at memorials at accident sites and city halls across the region.

Please join us at the closest memorial to yourself, or any you are able to attend.

7:30AM – St. Catharines
Monument dedicated to the Fallen Welland Canal Workers
located at Lock 3 on the Welland Canal Parkway at the St. Catharines Museum
1932 Welland Canals Parkway Lock 3, St. Catharines, ON

8:00AM – St. Catharines
Monument dedicated to four fallen workers
Under the St. Catharines Skyway, along Welland Canal Parkway
North of the Queenston / Parkway intersection

9:15AM – Niagara-on-the-Lake
Monument for Joel Murray
Centennial Arena – 1557 Four Mile Creek Rd. in Virgil

10:30AM – Niagara Falls
Monument located at Niagara Falls City Hall
4310 Queen Street, Niagara Falls, ON

11:45AM – Fort Erie
Monument located at Fort Erie City Hall
1 Municipal Centre Dr, Fort Erie, ON

1:00PM – Port Colborne
Monument located in H.H. Knoll Park, beside the hospital
260 Sugarloaf St, Port Colborne, ON

2:00PM – Welland
Monument located beside the canal in Merritt Park
151 King St, Welland, ON

3:00PM – Port Robinson
In memory of Robyn Lafleur, Port Robinson Park
1 River Road Port Robinson, ON

4:00PM – St. Catharines
Monument located at St. Catharines City Hall
50 Church St., St. Catharines, ON

5:15PM – Thorold
Monument located at the Region of Niagara Headquarters
1815 Sir Isaac Brock Way, Thorold, ON

If you have any questions, please contact the Labour Council at:
nrlc.clc@gmail.com

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Courses will be offered at the Best Western St. Catharines Hotel & Conference Centre, 2 North Service Rd, St. Catharines, Ontario

WHSC 5 Day Level 1 Occupational Health & Safety Training
July 20-24, 2026 – 30 Hours including 3 optional subjects
$575.00 per participant

Course Description:
The WHSC Occupational Health & Safety Level 1 program is intended for use by unions to train new joint committee members and health and safety representatives. Through the level 1 program, participants learn and practice skills needed to promote and achieve prevention in the workplace. Upon completion of the program, learners receive a Level 1 certificate. The Level 1 program trains worker representatives to identify and fight off behavioral-based management approaches and establish real prevention programs that identify, assess, and control hazards. The WHSC Level 1 is a certificate program and the prerequisite for entering Level 2 programs and Instructor Training. To earn a Level 1 certificate a participant must complete seven core modules and three additional electives. The seven core modules are:
1. Staying Alive While Earning a Living
2. The Body in the Workplace
3. Toxic Substances
4. Principles of Control
5. It’s the Law
6. The Myth of Worker Carelessness
7. Making Work Fit the Worker

WHSC 3 Day Bundle
July 22 – 24, 2026 – 18 Hours
$500 per participant for the 5 courses

Ergonomics: Basic Principals (6 hours)

From 1996 – 2004, Ontario’s workers compensation system approved more than 382,000 MSD lost-time claims. These claims led to nearly 27 million lost-time days and direct costs of more than $3.3 billion. This makes MSDs the number one reason for lost-time claims reported by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). This program, “Ergonomics” was developed to empower workplace parties with the skills to recognize, assess, and control or eliminate the job demands that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders through the application of egronomical principals. Observing awkward postures, forceful movements or repetitive job tasks are clear signs that the presence of occupational MSD hazards exist. Listening to what workers say will provide signals about how the job demands are affecting them. The first part of this program, Module 1, “Ergonomics: Recognizing Injuries and Risk Factors” explains what MSDs are, how the body is affected, and provides participants with the information necessary to recognize the risk factors that contribute to MSDs. The second half of the program, Module 2, “Ergonomics: Design Principles” deals with the principles of work design. Workers who do the work are often the people who know best when the work activity is causing strain, stress, or pain. They are often the same people who have ideas or suggestions about changes that can be used successfully.

Documenting Health & Safety (3 hours)

This three-hour program takes a strong practical approach to documenting health & safety. Participants will examine six basic areas: (1) why documenting health and safety is critical, (2) ways to document, (3) specific types of documents to use (4) what to document (5) when to document, and (6) how to organize their documents. It provides various methods using forms that are perforated for easy and quick use. Participants will have multiple opportunities to practice documenting by sitting in a JHSC meeting practice documenting by sitting in a JHSC meeting to practice their note taking skills when listening to interactive audio-led worksheets and take part in a work refusal. The goal of this program is to ensure participants can walk away prepared to bring health and safety issues to the forefront in their workplaces.

Psychosocial Hazards & Workplace Mental Health (3 hours)

This program provides a basic understanding of psychosocial hazards and how they may impact a worker’s mental health. It outlines the health effects associated with psychosocial hazards, explains workplace and contributing factors and discusses methods for their identification, assessment and control. The program concludes with a discussion on preventative and protective measures for a safer and healthier workplace.

Stress in the Workplace (3 hours)

Evidence is mounting clearly showing that stress is a serious workplace hazard affecting workers health and well-being. The effects may not be so obvious at first. Symptoms take the form of worry, headaches, chest pain, tension in the neck and shoulders, fatigue, and depression. Over a period of time, workplace stress wreaks havoc on our bodies resulting in illness and disease. This module is intended to provide participants with an understanding of the hazards of workplace stress. Using the principles of recognition, assessment and control, the participant gains knowledge about:

• What workplace stress is and the magnitude of the problem
• The body’s reaction to it and its health effects
• Workplace stressors
• Methods of assessment and the principles of control as they relate to workplace stress
• Workplace Strategies

Strategies require the collaboration of the workplace parties to come together to find solutions. The joint health and safety committee’s role, a key part of this process, is therefore emphasized in this program.

Workplace Violence and Harassment (3 hours)

Workplace violence and harassment are serious health and safety hazards. Canadian workers report some of the highest rates of assaults in the world. Harassment is often a precursor to violence. Workplace violence can have detrimental impacts not only on the victim but also on the victims’ family and friends, co-workers and others who may have witnessed the incident or been targeted. Incidents of workplace violence can result in serious injuries, psychological trauma, and in some cases, fatalities. This three-hour module reflects legislative amendments made to the Act to include workplace violence and harassment. In this module, participants will explore what workplace violence and harassment are, risk factors associated with workplace violence, how to assess the workplace and specific risk factors, requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, what should be included within required policies and programs and how to control risk factors when elimination of same is not possible.

Prevention Link Level 1 & 2 WSIB
July 20-24, 2026
$650 per participant

Level 1 & 2 foundation courses that teach participants the workers’ compensation system in Ontario (WSIB). They learn about the principles of workers compensation, how to report and file a WSIB claim, types of injuries, regulations and policies, benefits and services, and much more.

Firm registration deadline is June 26, 2026

Payment is by cheque, please make it out to:
Niagara Regional Labour Council
PO Box 42, Thorold, Ontario
L2V 3Y7

For application forms and to reserve our spot please email NRLC.CLC@gmail.com

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This event is more than just a test of strength; it’s the starting point for United Way Niagara’s community-wide fundraising campaign. By bringing teams, sponsors, and supporters together, we’re not just pulling a truck; we’re pulling our community closer. When we unite, we can help lift individuals out of poverty, empower youth, and create a safe and inclusive Niagara for all.

About the Event
The Firetruck Pull will take place on September 18, 2025 from 11:00am to 2:00pm and is the official kick-off to the 2025 Campaign. Registered teams of 10 people will work together to pull a 12-tonne fire truck 100 feet and raise much needed funds to support the community. 100% of proceeds fund social programs in Niagara (and count toward your workplace campaign total if applicable). The event takes place at Seymour Hannah Sports & Entertainment Centre, 240 St Paul St W, St. Catharines, ON.

Funds can be raised in a number of ways including but not limited to, peer-to-peer (teams will get a custom fundraising page), corporate sponsorship or a combination of both. Going above and beyond is encouraged! The fee for your team to participate is $1,500.

Awards will be given to the teams with:
Best Team Spirit;
Fastest Pull Time, and;
Highest Funds Raised.

Last year the Niagara Regional Labour Council team came in second last, so we need your help to rise up the standings and show the power of united Labour!

To sign up and join our team click here and fill out our information form.

The event begins at 10AM, but our team won’t be pulling until roughly 1PM, so please arrive by 12:45PM latest.

For more information, or to sign up an entire team you can visit the United Way website.

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We are looking for 15 volunteers to help us with the NRLC’s day to fill backpacks. It would be great to have a variety of locals come out and support the kids who need our help.

1200 backpacks await us, and if you would like to help out, please fill out the attached form. The first 15 volunteers will be selected, and anyone signing up after will be an alternate in case we need extra help.

Thank you, and hope to see you there!

To sign up please fill out this form.

Date: Tuesday, August 26th

Time: 1:30-5:00 pm

Location: Beatties Warehouse

399 Vansickle Road, St Catharines

Spots are first come, first served.

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Toronto – No matter how anyone tries to spin the numbers, the actual data from sources not tainted by politics, show that more than a million Ontarians have lost their family doctor since before the Ford government was elected, reports the Ontario Health Coalition. In 2016, before the Ford government was elected 1.3 million Ontarians did not have a family doctor, according to data from Statistics Canada. By July 2024, there were 2.5 million Ontarians without a family doctor, according to the Ontario College of Family Physicians and the numbers are projected to get worse. 

The fact that the Ford government waited until an election campaign to make an announcement is “reprehensible”, says the Coalition.

“Talk is cheap. Waiting for years to announce this funding and then announcing only a plan to implement a plan within four years from now smacks of political manipulation on an issue that should never be used as something with which a political party plays politics”, said Ross Sutherland, Coalition chairperson.

“In our 40-years of advocacy for public health care we have seen the bad and the good. Objectively, our health care has never been in such crisis and disarray as it is now”, warned Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Coalition. “While driving our public system into crisis, the Ford government has shifted billions of dollars in public funding to for-profit privatization. It did this without any mandate from the public. In fact, they lied outright leading into the last election categorically stating they would not privatize. Doing all that while waiting until the cusp of an election to announce funding and a vague promise to deal with primary care is reprehensible.”

The Coalition also warned the Ford government is using public money to throw open the doors to the for-profit corporate takeover of primary care. Since the last election, they gave public funding to Shoppers Drug Mart, owned by Loblaw corporation, to create for-profit primary care clinics. Telus, also, is running a for-profit primary care now in Ontario. They have given power to diagnose and prescribe – to the same patients – to for-profit pharmacies, a clear conflict of interest made worse given the billing for unnecessary med checks and corporate pressure to increase billing volumes (and profits). The Coalition points to extraordinarily high costs of groceries and telecommunications in its warning about the for-profit takeover.

The Coalition is demanding that Ford — and all of Ontario’s political parties’ leaders — commit to stop the corporate takeover of primary care and commit to funding only non-profit and local teams without corporate ownership.

The Health Coalition is non-partisan. It represents more than 750,000 Ontarians, more than 500 member organizations and more than 40 local chapters across the province. The Coalition does not endorse any political party. They work to advocate with all political parties to improve public health care for all and speak out against any political party that dismantles and privatizes public health care. The Coalition was founded to advocate for public health care before the Canada Health Act was brought in and has acted as a public interest group to protect it ever since.

The post Doug Ford is playing politics with health funding appeared first on Niagara Regional Labour Council.

By leading the conversation in speaking out against this issue and providing the assistance for those affected by abuse, we break the silence against domestic violence and provide hope and empowerment for all.

We are requesting your support in donating monetarily, donations of personal care products, auction prizes and/or door prizes would be appreciated.

There is also a breakfast (no fee) at 7:00 am to 8:30 am at Club Capri, 36 Cleveland At., Thorold.

All proceeds raised from our ticket sales that day for the door prizes will be going to the Shoe Box Project of Niagara.

To register please fill out and email this form to: nrlc.clc@gmail.com

THE SHOEBOX PROJECT MISSION:
“TO SHARE EMPATHY, KINDNESS AND COMPASSION WITH LOCAL
WOMEN IMPACTED BY HOMELESSNESS THROUGH THE COLLECTION
AND DISTRIBUTION OF GIFT-FILLED SHOEBOXES AND MESSAGES OF
SUPPORT”.

A SHOEBOX GIFT IS A POWERFUL REMINDER FOR A WOMAN THAT SHE HAS NOT
BEEN FORGOTTEN AND THAT SHE REMAINS A VALUED AND RESPECTED MEMBER
OF HER COMMUNITY.
IT’S A SMALL, SIMPLE GESTURE OF KINDNESS THAT HAS AN IMMEDIATE, POSITIVE
IMPACT ON THE WOMAN WHO RECEIVES IT.

Each Shoebox is valued at approximately $50.
*GIFT CARD (WE RECOMMEND $10 TO A GROCERY OR DRUG STORE)
*SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER (CONSIDER ALL HAIR TYPES AND TEXTURES)
*BODY WASH
*DEODORANT
*TOOTHBRUSH & TOOTHPASTE
*WARM SOCKS
*CHOCOLATE/CANDY
THE SHOEBOX PROJECT IS A TANGIBLE AND CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE
BACK DIRECTLY TO SOMEONE IN YOUR VERY OWN COMMUNITY.

The post National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women appeared first on Niagara Regional Labour Council.

Beginning at 6:00PM there will be a Mystical Market, dancing, psychic readings, a costume contest, and music from Mage!

Join us for the Spooktacular Soirée, presented by GenNext and Lock Street Brewery, for a Halloween night you won’t forget! This event features live music by local sensation Mage Music, setting the perfect eerie vibe for a night of fun and frights. Dress to impress for our costume contest, where the top prize is an overnight hotel stay!

Get into the spirit with our cursed candy bar, capture your look at our photographer station, and dance the night away surrounded by an eerie atmosphere—complete with a fog machine to set the scene.

Upstairs, explore our mystical market, where you can browse unique wares and even get a glimpse into your future with a coffee grind reader oracle. Your first drink is on us, courtesy of Lock Street Brewery, included with your ticket.

All proceeds from this event will support United Way Niagara, helping us make a difference in our community. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate Halloween in style while giving back!

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at the below link:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spooktacular-soiree-tickets-1009891210797

The post Spooktacular Soirée – Oct 17 appeared first on Niagara Regional Labour Council.

This event will follow the official nomination of current St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens as the NDP candidate for the next Ontario provincial government election.

Where: Mansion House, 5 William St, St. Catharines, ON
When: Friday, October 25th – 7:30PM – 9PM
**Nomination of Jennie Stevens at 6:30PM

The post Labour Mixer – Oct 25 appeared first on Niagara Regional Labour Council.

To represent the Ford government’s false claim that privatizing surgeries will reduce wait times in public hospitals, a 15 replica of a Trojan Horse will travel around to media conferences around the province.

For-profit clinics will only make wait times worse. They cost more and they illegally and unlawfully charge patients thousands of dollars for medically necessary care.

JOIN US NOVEMBER 25TH IN SUPPORT OF WELL-FUNDED HOSPITALS!

Where: Niagara Falls City Hall – 4310 Queen St, Niagara Falls, Ontrario
When: November 25th, 9AM – 11AM

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