Focus on Safety Youth Video Contest

Introduction

Work is an important part of life, but no job is worth getting hurt over. Workplace injuries happen in a heartbeat but the resulting injuries can have a lasting impact on your ability to do the things you like to do.

Use your creativity to develop an original video that can be used in social media to illustrate the importance of working safely on the job.

How to enter

Visit the contest page for the province in which you reside and follow the instructions to enter your video. Note that each province has set its own deadline.

The 2018 contest is now closed. Check back for details on the 2019 contest.

Three opportunities to win

  • Provincial Podium

    See the provincial contest pages for full details about prizes awarded at the provincial level.

  • National Stage

    Win your provincial contest and you're onto the national stage! The first place video at the Canadian finals will be awarded $2,000, second place will receive $1,500 and third place will receive $1,000. Plus each winning school will receive a matching prize.

  • Meet the Judges

    • Steve Podborski

      President and CEO, Parachute

      Steve Podborski

      Since May 2017, Steve has been the President and CEO of Parachute, Canada’s national injury prevention charity. This followed a career as a sports announcer for NBC and CBS and more than a decade with TELUS where, as Director of Sports and Wellness, he helped manage a $40-million annual portfolio of giving to charities across Canada while driving results for Canadian kids in two major sports and health education programs: HEROS and 60 Minute Kids Club.

      Steve is a two-time Olympian and first North American male to win an Olympic medal in downhill skiing, capturing a bronze at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. In 1982 Steve became the first and still only non-European male to win the World Cup downhill title and credits much of his unprecedented success to his "Crazy Canuck" teammates.

      In sport, Steve is a dedicated volunteer: his most recent, and high-profile, post was serving as the Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team in Sochi, Russia. He continues to serve the Canadian Olympic movement as a Board Member of the COC and a member of its Governance and Ethics Committee.

    • Shirley Hickman

      Executive Director, Threads of Life

      Shirley Hickman

      Shirley's life and the lives of her family were forever changed when they suffered a traumatic workplace tragedy. Since that time, she has focused on making a difference in workplace health and safety. In 2003, Shirley co-founded The Association for Workplace Tragedy Family Support, known as Threads of Life, and is currently the Executive Director. Threads of Life helps families affected by a workplace fatality, life-altering injury or occupational disease along their journey of healing and is currently working with more than 2,700 family members from across Canada. The organization’s vision is to lead and inspire a culture shift as a result of which work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths are morally, socially and economically unacceptable.

    • Denis St Jean

      Director of Health and Safety, Public Service Alliance of Canada

      Denis St Jean

      Denis is the PSAC National Health and Safety Officer. In that role, he coordinates the PSAC national health and safety programs while advising the PSAC on many issues pertaining to health, safety and workers' compensation.

      He sits on many tripartite consultative committees including the working group that drafted the Violence Prevention Regulations. He also represents the PSAC on numerous Joint Employer/Union Committees including the National Joint Council Service-Wide Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

      He represents labour on various technical committees drafting national standards including the CSA National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety. He was a driving force behind the establishment of the Joint Task Force on Mental Health. He is the Co-chair of the Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace.

      He has been appointed by the Governor in Council as a worker representative to the Council of Governors of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

    • Diandra Budd

      Research Coordinator, St. Michael’s Hospital

      Diandra Budd

      Diandra is a Research Coordinator in the Division of Occupational Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital. Her research focuses on evaluating the return-to-work experience for workers with occupational disease and improving disease awareness using customizable workplace posters. She is also involved in a multi-disciplinary, community-based collaborative that conducts research and health promotion activities to improve conditions for nail technicians, as well as a province-wide action plan to reduce the burden and incidence of occupational disease. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology (BScH) at Queen's University and her master's in Occupational Health (MSc) at McGill University. Diandra also founded a non-profit organization, TakeCare, which donates toiletries to parents with a child unexpectedly admitted to a NICU or pediatric ward in Ontario. Diandra was a recipient of the Dick Martin Scholarship Award from CCOHS in 2016.

  • Fan Favourite

    A selection of top videos from the provincial contests will be posted publicly. They will be nationally viewed and voted on by Canadian residents. The video that receives the most votes will receive an additional $1000 prize.

    Note there is no matching prize for the winner's school in the Fan Favourite contest.


Film Fest

Celebrate NAOSH Week at your organization by holding a Youth Video Contest Film Fest of the winning provincial and territorial entries from all over Canada.

Here's how to do it:

  • Display posters and send announcements inviting staff to drop in and watch all the top videos from the contest.
  • Turn a meeting room into a theatre by setting up a projector and screen.
  • Connect a laptop with speakers, and run the YouTube playlist of all the top videos.

Ideas and tips for a successful Film Fest

  • Hold your own "Fan Favourite" voting by providing ballots for staff to jot down their favourite video
  • Run the playlist continuously so staff can drop in throughout the day to watch the videos
  • Offer door prizes and a draw for those who complete a Fan Favourite ballot
  • Offer popcorn or other healthy snacks to munch on
  • Share your event photos on social media with the #focusonsafety and #NAOSHWeek hashtags

Download the poster

Deadline for Entry

Each province/territory has set its own deadline

Get inspired

2018 Canadian Winners

Congratulations to all our winners!

  • First Place

    Cédrick Provost, Xavier Provost and Mollie Fillion from Saint-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Québec, won for the video titled "Au revoir"

  • Second Place

    Brennan Windsor from Resurrection Catholic Secondary School n Kitchener, Ontario won for the video titled "Safety Rhymes"

  • Third Place

    Alexandre Paquette, Benjamin Babineau and Mathieu Allain from École L’Odyssée in Moncton, New Brunswick, won for the video titled "L'importance du verrouillage"