fairs such as the Western Fair at London, the International 

 Plowing Match at Guelph, the Timmins Sportsmen's Show, 

 the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition at Port Arthur, and the 

 Chatham Sportsmen's Show. 



EXHIBIT AWARD 



Our exhibit at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair won the 

 1968 International Award for "Exhibit Excellence", awarded 

 by the American Association for Conservation Information. 



ACCIDENT CONTROL 



SECTION 



With the contmuing development of our safety program 

 aimed at a reduction in loss of life, personal injury and 

 property damage, the work-load is increasing, and one 

 additional accident control officer was added to field staff, 

 bringing the total to eleven, including three regional 

 supervisors. 



THE LOGGERS' SAFETY ACT 



Enforcement of this Act is mainly a case of safety education. 

 The large operators have excellent safety programs, gener- 

 ally speaking, but the smaller operators do not and cannot 

 afford such programs, and it is in this area that our assistance 

 is most needed. We do, however, participate in all logging 

 safety programs wherever possible. 



During the year, our officers made over 3,500 inspections 

 under the Act, giving advice on safety matters and issuing 

 warnings and stop-work orders for serious infractions of 

 the Act and Regulations. 



While the number of accidents showed an increase over 

 the previous year, this was partially due to a change in 

 reporting procedures. There were 14 fatal accidents, a 

 decrease of five from the report of last year. 



HUNTER SAFETY TRAINING 



To improve the quality of this program, it was decided to 

 upgrade the instruction. A new examination for instructors 

 was developed, and all existing instructors who wished to 

 continue in the program were required to be retested. Suc- 

 cessful applicants totalled 904. In addition to this, each 

 instructor is required to conduct at least one class each year 

 to remain on the active list, and, in any case, must be re- 

 examined every three years. 



At the same time, a new Instructors' Guide in Hunter 

 Training was developed, and a hunter's handbook for new 

 hunters was produced. 



During the year, 13,030 Students were instructed, and it 

 was the consensus that the students applying for examina- 

 tion for hunting licences were considerably more know- 

 ledgeable than in previous years. 



SAFETY IN PROVINCIAL PARKS 



Field officers of the Accident Control Section make frequent 

 inspections in Provincial Parks, reporting hazardous or 

 unsafe conditions to the proper authority for immediate 

 remedial action. (The Section is not responsible for the 

 beach patrol maintained in some parks.) 



During the months of July, August and September, the 

 Department sponsored a water-safety demonstration pro- 

 gram presented by the Ontario Safety League in about 35 

 Provincial Parks. While it is estimated that persons present 

 at these demonstrations totalled approximately 175,000, 

 many more thousands received benefit through the ser- 

 vices of television stations which covered the demonstra- 

 tions. 



WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION 



The Workmen's Compensation Act was amended on August 

 1, 1968, increasing costs to the employer. Department costs 

 for 1968-9 reached a high of $248,380.59, an increase of 

 $31,595.35 over the previous fiscal year. The total included 

 $143,437.04 for compensation claims costs; $87,439.29 for 

 pension claims costs, an increase on the year of $30,455.82, 

 96 per cent of the overall increase; and $17,504.26 for 

 administrative costs. 



Compensable claims numbered 759, an increase of 43 

 over the previous year; the percentage of staff involved in 

 accidents increased by 0.8. The average cost per claim was 

 $187, a decrease of $13 on the year. 



Fire control projects cost $5,005.94 includmg $1,309.15 

 for fire fighting costs. Junior Ranger costs increased slightly. 



Seven new pensions for permanent disability were 

 established. 



Three deaths occurred during the year. A pension was 

 established for the dependants of one employee killed in a 

 plane crash. 



The Injury Frequency Rate in 1968-9 was 17.4, an increase 

 from 15.7 in 1967-8 and from 13.8 in 1966-7. The rate refers 

 to compensable injuries that require a lay-off from work 

 beyond the day of accident. 



The Lands and Forests Safely Trophy was won by Ceraldton 

 Forest District with a 1968-9 record of one compensable 

 lost-time injury in 45,679 man-days worked for an Injury 

 Frequency Rate of 2.2. 



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