Yellowknife, N.W.T. - This week is North American Occupational Safety and Health Week and the Workers Safety and Compensation Commission is once again part of it.

The Canadian Society of Safety Engineering runs the event nationally, but the WSCC hosts one of the major events in Yellowknife known as "Safety Street" and this year's edition will be on May 11 at the City Hall grounds.

WSCC president Dave Grundy said the event is designed to see if teams can figure out exactly what is wrong in each location.

"The first one might be a restaurant business. The second one might be a carpentry shop. The third one might be an electrical shop,” he said. “Then there are different hazards set up so the teams have to spot the hazards."

Grundy said having a week like this is important to help prevent accidents in the workplace.

"Usually it isn't an accident by the definition of the word; it's just something that you didn't predict.  But something happened that made that accident happen. We need to get to why did the accident happen. We need to ask the question why and that's what we ask employers and workers to do," Grundy said.

High schools will also be taking part in the Safety Street challenge for the first time this year.

CJCD Mix 100 News

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