Open letter to the Nova Scotia Dept. of Environment and Labour:

Nova Scotia Environment and Labour

Attn: The Honourable Kerry Morash, Minister

5151 Terminal Road,6th Floor

P.O. Box 697

Halifax , Nova Scotia

B3J 2T8

Jan 22, 2005

Re: Proposed Legislation for Nova Scotia Diving Industry.

A brief introduction is in order as we have not met or exchanged correspondence prior to this date. My name is John Mc Fadzen and I represent the members of the Canadian Association of Diving Contractors, including those located in your province of Nova Scotia.

We have recently been made aware of the pending legislation pertaining to Occupational Diving for the province of Nova Scotia and wish to share both support as well as thoughtful attention for these undertakings.

As a Canadian Registered Safety Professional, you will appreciate the efforts that are involved when like-minded key management stakeholders provide invaluable feedback on relevant issues.

We applaud the efforts of those Nova Scotia representatives that have brought this agenda to the forefront for inclusion into the Occupational Health and Safety Act. There is no doubt that it is a priority initiative given fatalities and a recent highly publicized near miss in the Nova Scotia Diving Community.

We do, however, feel that in this instance, a hasty reaction has followed action resulting in proposed legislation that will do little to reduce the hazards that Occupational Divers face each day in the Province of Nova Scotia. We are taken aback by the serious nature of this course of events and respectfully request that those key individuals in your department be asked to review the position taken, in terms of evaluating the pros and cons of individualizing the Nova Scotia Diving Regulations.

We do appreciate Nova Scotia’s absence of Diving Regulations to date has undoubtedly placed your department in the unenviable position of having to seek consensus from the stakeholders. The obvious revenue related issues that will bring stinging criticisms to bear is nothing new for regulatory authorities such as yours. Other provinces, as you may well know, have run this gauntlet and in the interest of trying to do what is right , have chosen a different path.

For nearly thirty years, the Canadian Standards Association ( CSA ) has worked with our association and other like-minded organizations to develop standards for occupational diving that could be called up by regulatory authorities as cookie cutter legislation, a generic document with the means to perpetuate current status. The documents contain a mechanism, recognizing unique and extenuating circumstances, from time to time, that may require a variance giving the local governance some flexibility. After all, physiology affects all divers the same.

It is our contention that the Nova Scotia Government should , in the interest of sound occupational safety planning, follow the lead of several other jurisdictions and abandon their plans to go it alone.

Although our preference would be an immediate adoption of the CSA standards listed below, phasing in the standards would be a preferred alternative to following the present path of reinventing the wheel.

CSA 275.2 , Occupational Safety Code for Diving Operations.

CSA 275.4 , Diver and Dive Crew Competency.

CSA 275.1 , Chamber Standards.

CSA 180.1 , Compressed Breathing Air Systems.

CSA 275.5 , Occupational Diver Training Programs and Facilities. ( draft )

We look forward to your reply and again wish to thank you for providing us the opportunity to share our members concerns with you.

Respectfully

John Mc Fadzen

President,

Canadian Association of Diving Contractors

cc- Jim Leblanc, Director of Inspection and Compliance Services

cc- Mille MacCormack, Administrative Assistant.

cc- Members, Canadian Association of Diving Contractors, via CADC Website.