Annex Business Media: Podcasts

This episode of 20/20 focusses on why most businesses talk-the-talk about taking harassment and violence in the workplace seriously, but recent events have led us to believe that most don’t walk-the-walk. Listen to how Debora DeAngelis dealt with her own personal experience as both an employee, and as a union representative.

Kim Caron, Director-Business Development for Armstrong's National Alarm Monitoring and Past President of CANASA, recalls her early days in alarm response when calling 911 seemed like a big step to her growth over the years into a leader who has helped to shape the security industry in Canada.

Hope, B.C., Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy speaks with Scott Wilkinson, senior academy officer in the training academy at the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) about how the department is using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to augment firefighting efforts. Scott provides an overview of the benefits of using drones to help incident commanders at fire scenes. He also explains how a department can get started, where to purchase equipment and the type of training that’s needed. The WFPS now has 18 trained pilots across four shifts as well as a cadre of trained visual observers to assist the pilots.

The National Fire Protection Association’s Canadian Regional Director, Shayne Mintz is the guest speaker on Fire Fighting in Canada the Podcast’s latest episode titled “Cannabis Challenges in the Fire Service”. Mintz shares several ways the legalization of cannabis in Canada will challenge the fire industry and what chiefs can expect to face and tips on how to get a good handle on the changes and safety concerns without getting overwhelmed. He also shares valuable resources and where chiefs can start looking for more information.

Victor Harding is a familiar face in the security industry, from his days at Voxcom to owning his own business. Victor, a regular contributor to SP&T News with his Lessons Learned column, shares some of those lessons with us, including his views on the state of alarms and monitoring in Canada today.

Donelda Gowan maintains adverse events are common with massage therapy intervention. In her 2017 dissertation, Gowan posits, "Safety in massage therapy is understudied. There is little information on what constitutes an adverse event from the perspective of stakeholders including MTs, other health care providers, insurers, regulators, educators, and patients." Today we discuss the frequency of adverse events related to massage therapy, concepts of hurt versus harm and harm versus healing, patient and practitioner perspectives on adverse events, and what the profession can do to measure and monitor adverse events to inform the profession at large, and build public trust.

Firefighters should brace for more forest and wildland blazes across Canada in future years because it will be the new norm as climate change takes hold. Wildland fire experts and ecologists warn that wildfires will likely become more widespread and destruction will become more severe during the summer months in Canada. Fire Fighting in Canada editor Grant Cameron spoke about the issue with Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at the University of Alberta. Flannigan says the jet stream appears to be getting weaker, which is creating conditions that are ideal for starting and fueling wildland blazes.

In our premier podcast episode, we talk with Les Tomlin, president and co-founder of PizzaForno, a Canadian company that introduced an automated vending machine that cooks and dispenses pizza at five locations in the Toronto area. Canadians Les and William Moyer together created a version of an oven based on patented technology from SAS Adial, which is based in France. Les joins us to talk about the company's pizza-vending concept, how it came about, how it works and the company future plans. This podcast is brought to you by Canadian Pizza magazine, the voice of the Canadian independent pizzeria.

20/20: focus on safety features compelling conversations, generated by questions from you, OHS Canada readers, visitors and social media members. Each podcast features a “hot topic” affecting Canada’s safety landscape, with advice and tips from industry experts. Every episode will hopefully entertain you, and will definitely inform you about the timely issues you need to know about. New episodes will be announced right here, and in each edition of OHS Canada’s weekly eNews. To find out more about upcoming 20/20 podcasts and entering your questions for us to cover, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Massage therapists frequently experience strained relationships with the public and media. Associations with the sex trade, sexual abuse, alternative therapies and insurance fraud have hurt the profession. Practitioners can influence public perception by reaching out to the media while sending the right messages to the front line of their practice. In this edition of On the Table, we speak with RMT and veteran of public and media relations, Margaret Wallis-Duffy. Learn critical skills to position you in positive light, whether speaking to a referring health professional, your patients, or the media.

Twenty-eight years ago, at the age of 14, Tyler Pelke, deputy fire chief at the City of Red Deer Emergency Services in Alberta, went through a horrific ordeal. An assailant murdered his friend, assaulted Tyler, slit his throat, threw a blanket on him, doused it with gas, set him on fire and left him to die. Somehow, Tyler survived the violent attack. His assailant was caught and sent to prison. Later, Tyler found it within himself to confront his attacker in jail and find peace and purpose in life through a journey of forgiveness. He now speaks to audiences across North America about the power of forgiveness and why understanding your purpose in life is the key to dealing with adversity. Tyler talks to Fire Fighting in Canada editor Grant Cameron about the experience and how he refused to let the events of his past define him. Tyler believes it’s important for people to find a purpose because that will give them hope. He’s a living example of how to turn a negative into a positive.

Cybercrime and financial investigation topic.

Without provincial health funding, clients of RMTs rely heavily on employee health benefit plans (EHBPs) to finance their massage therapy care. Worker's compensation and auto-insurance are reportedly tough to work with, and increasingly insurers attempt to position themselves as guardians of health care funding. With adversity rising in relations with some insurers, practitioners worry for this source of funding while insurers are critical on whether utilization of massage therapy provides real value for dollars spent. In this edition of On The Table, we speak with RMTAO Executive Director Andrew Lewarne on his conversations with GreenShield, the concerns insurance companies are expressing, and what the massage therapy profession can do to improve insurer relations.

Despite massive leaps forward in the world of technology, information sharing and an increasingly sophisticated cyber platform for crime to take place, “the essence of an investigation still needs to be that thorough search for the truth, that analysis of the available intelligence in evidence, and trying to make sense of the objective in mind to hopefully secure the investigation,” says Mick Creedon, the former chief constable in Derbyshire, England, in the first episode of Blue Line, The Podcast. Creedon was the national lead for the police service in matters including serious and organized crime, covert policing, investigative interviewing, money laundering, financial investigation and asset recovery. He also served as the policing lead in the development of the network of multi-force and multi-agency regional organized crime units. Listen to our conversation with Creedon in the box below. He chats more about financial investigation as part of the investigators’ toolbox as well as enhancing the attack o

The founder and former president of both Frisco Bay Industries and AlarmForce Industries, and now president and CEO of Think Protection, which he co-founded with his son Adam, talks about how he got started in the industry, his approach to marketing security services, and his views on how the alarm monitoring business is evolving today.

A Canadian study is calling for the creation of a national firefighter wellness surveillance system to help address soaring cancer rates and other key firefighter health risks. The study looked at 10 years of firefighter health and injury data and found that cancer caused more than 86 per cent of firefighter fatalities – overtaking cardiovascular disease as the top killer of Canadian firefighters. The study was conducted by the British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit and the University of the Fraser Valley in B.C. Fire Fighting in Canada editor Grant Cameron spoke with several of the authors of the study. See the graph below for more information about firefighter illness, injury and death in Canada, or go to https://cjr.ufv.ca/ to view the study.

A Canadian study is calling for the creation of a national firefighter wellness surveillance system to help address soaring cancer rates and other key firefighter health risks. The study looked at 10 years of firefighter health and injury data and found that cancer caused more than 86 per cent of firefighter fatalities – overtaking cardiovascular disease as the top killer of Canadian firefighters. The study was conducted by the British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit and the University of the Fraser Valley in B.C. Fire Fighting in Canada editor Grant Cameron spoke with several of the authors of the study. See the graph below for more information about firefighter illness, injury and death in Canada, or go to https://cjr.ufv.ca/ to view the study.

After spending years working at Best Buy and ADT, self-proclaimed self-starter Virgil Reed decided to go out on his own and launch a security company in Saskatoon. Today, Reed Security is operating in Regina and Print Alberta, Sask., as well as in Calgary. Learn how Virgil saw a gap in in the market is now competing against the large nationals and the local telco.

Firefighters don’t like to show their weaknesses or vulnerabilities. They often keep their problems to themselves instead of reaching out for help. That’s what happened to Chris Howe, an acting captain with the Niagara Falls Fire Department. He suffered from mental health issues and became an alcoholic and drug addict and was suicidal. One day, though, he reached out and found help. Chris talks to Fire Fighting in Canada editor Grant Cameron about his struggles and eventual recovery from the depths of despair. He provides a personal, no-holds-barred account of his battles with mental health, alcoholism, addiction and his journey to recovery. That recovery began about eight years ago and Chris now shares his story in hopes it will help others in similar predicaments.

While the action on the ground happens locally, a lot of important policy matters are taking shape at the federal level. Provinces nationwide have faced tremendous tragedies over the last five years, such as wildfires in the West, the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster and Humboldt. These disasters have increased the importance of federal policy, shared Tina Saryeddine, executive director of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs in a guest column published in the June edition of Fire Fighting in Canada.