PowerStream Continues to Be Recognized for Safety & Wellness

Has Earned Seven 'Canada's Safest Employers' Awards Over a Four-year Period

Marketwired.com
Oct. 29, 2015

PowerStream's efforts in promoting safety, health and wellness to its workforce has earned the company recognition from Canadian Occupational Safety as the Silver Recipient of Canada's Safest Employers Award in the Utilities category as well as the Gold Recipient in the Wellness category for the second consecutive year.

The awards were presented to PowerStream officials on Wednesday evening at the Canada's Safest Employers Awards 2015 Winners' Gala held at the Arcadian Court in Toronto. The presentation of these awards was made almost a year to the date after Canadian Occupational Safety recognized PowerStream with the same two awards. The utility has now earned a total of seven Canada's Safest Employers Awards over a four-year period.

Two separate panels of judges selected PowerStream for this year's awards through a rigorous selection and judging process that took into consideration the extensive number of health and safety policies, procedures and programs the company has in place to promote and maintain a culture of safety and wellness throughout the organization.

The judges also considered how PowerStream engaged its employees with several innovative and transformational wellness initiatives to meet the diverse needs of the workforce. This included producing related communication materials, running internal announcements, bringing in specialists for information sessions as well as holding a Wellness Fair, Walking Challenge, 8 Week Healthy Eating Challenge and promoting mental wellbeing.

QUOTES

• "We are fully committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees, our customers as well as the public. This recognition we have received from Canadian Occupation Safety speaks to our success in engaging our employees in programs promoting these important lifestyle and workplace behaviours," said Maurizio Bevilacqua, PowerStream Board Chair and Mayor of the City of Vaughan. "Promoting health, safety and wellness is good business sense and great people sense."
  
  
• "Canadian Occupational Safety is pleased to recognize PowerStream once again this year with two Canada's Safest Employer Awards," said Amanda Silliker, editor of Canadian Occupational Safety magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication, which runs the award program. "Our recognition of their efforts and achievements through the years is a testament to the company's commitment to employee health, safety and wellness."

BACKGROUND

• In addition to the awards presented this year and in 2014, PowerStream was previously recognized in 2013 by Canadian Occupational Safety as a Silver Recipient in Wellness and Gold Recipient in Safety. In 2012, the company was a Silver Recipient in the Safety category.
  
• PowerStream has been acknowledged on several occasions for being a leading employer. In addition to being named as one of 'Greater Toronto's Top Employers' for four consecutive years, the company has also been recognized as a Gold Award Recipient for Excellence, Innovation, and Wellness, an award based on Excellence Canada's Progressive Excellence Program.
  

ABOUT POWERSTREAM

PowerStream is a community-owned energy company that provides power and related services to more than 375,000 customers residing or owning a business in communities located immediately north of Toronto and in Central Ontario. It is jointly owned by the Cities of Barrie, Markham and Vaughan.