Annex Business Media: Podcasts

In this episode of Blue Line, The Podcast, we sit down with police officer Natalie Hiltz, an executive member of the Canadian Society of Evidence Based Policing and a key member of the Advancing WE in Policing (Ontario) initiative. Hiltz, who is in the middle of her master’s degree with Cambridge University in the U.K. (in the applied criminology and police management/police executive program), explains about the new approach to using gender as a platform to discuss policing. “Gender equity is not a woman’s issue; it’s everyone’s issue,” she tells listeners. She also shares more from her time at the 12th Cambridge International Conference on Evidence Based Policing this year and meeting Commissioner Cressida Dick of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, U.K.

Many firefighters volunteer with humanitarian organizations, using their unique skills to help vulnerable people around the world recover from disasters. Hope, B.C., Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy speaks with Sean Freeman, acting deputy chief of prevention and inspection at Strathmore Fire Department in Alberta, who's been deployed several times to help relief teams co-ordinated by the Canadian Red Cross. Freeman has been called out to five disasters in the Caribbean and around the world.

Many firefighters volunteer with humanitarian organizations, using their unique skills to help vulnerable people around the world recover from disasters. Hope, B.C., Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy speaks with Sean Freeman, acting deputy chief of prevention and inspection at Strathmore Fire Department in Alberta, who's been deployed several times to help relief teams co-ordinated by the Canadian Red Cross. Freeman has been called out to five disasters in the Caribbean and around the world.

Many patients utilize workplace benefits to pay or partially pay for their massage therapy care. Insurers agree, there are benefits to receiving massage therapy, but are concerned benefits are short-term, lower cost alternatives for the same outcomes are available, and question the exploitive business practices of some practitioners. Insurers are signalling that change is coming, and stakeholders in the massage therapy profession should double-down on efforts to improve relations, ensure accountability and demonstrate efficacy. Join veteran RMT Don Dillon and MTC editor Jannen Belbeck as they point to signs that insurance reimbursement for massage therapy is ripe for change. We also provide updates from RMTAO ED Andrew Lewarne on a follow up meeting with Greenshield Canada, and the RMT ACT campaign to de-list massage therapy as a taxable health service.

In our second podcast, we’ll meet three more of our 2019 class of the Top 10 Under 40 recipients: Ross Baron, field manager at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, B.C.; Joel Henderson, superintendent at the Sarnia Golf & Curling Club in Sarnia, Ont.; and Frank Shang, owner of MRD Landscaping in Vancouver, B.C.

In our first podcast, we’ll meet three of our 2019 class of the Top 10 Under 40 recipients: Trevor Anderson, superintendent at Mount Bruno Country Club in St. Bruno de Montarville, Que.; Miranda Robinson, assistant superintendent at Cordova Bay Golf Course in Victoria, B.C.; and Kevin Moores, superintendent at Oakfield Golf & Country Club in Halifax, N.S.

In this episode of Blue Line, The Podcast, we sit down with Constable Amy Boudreau, who has spent the last eight years as a police officer with a specialty in crime prevention. She is currently enrolled in a Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Waterloo and is an active executive board member for the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners. She also holds an International Crime Prevention Specialist designation, is on the Community Engagement Team for the Canadian Society of Evidence Based Policing (CANSEBP), is a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Level 1 instructor, and serves as a Mental Health Ambassador. Boudreau shares more about the importance in mindset when it comes come to your career and using roadblock as opportunities. She muses on breaking the officer mold, addressing and mitigating the existing barriers for women in the field, and changing the overall culture.

MeToo allegations are serious business for any leader or organization and fire departments are not immune. Fire chiefs must be prepared to deal with such situations. Hope, B.C., Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy speaks with communications strategist Karen Gordon of Gordon Strategy about the MeToo movement and the fire service. She has spoken on the subject at a number of conferences for fire chiefs.

In this episode of Blue Line, The Podcast, we sit down with Border Services Officer Tamara Lopez. She is with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in the Greater Toronto Area and is also a TV host, actor, mentor, conference speaker, a lifelong volunteer, former mascot and a new Serving with Pride director. She tells us more about her career journey, her most challenging as well as most memorable moments, and her recent training to become a “Positive Space Ambassador,” where she will be able to train others on the importance of being inclusive.

Podcast host and Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy talks with NFPA public education representative Laura King on this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign titled, “Not every hero wears a cape: Plan and practice your escape”. The two discuss what’s new this year, some background and history on the campaign and offer valuable resources departments can use as they prepare for the 2019 Fire Prevention Week which runs from the week of Sunday, Oct. 6 to October 12.

This episode of 20/20 focusses on why most businesses talk-the-talk about taking harassment and violence in the workplace seriously, but recent events have led us to believe that most don’t walk-the-walk. Listen to how Debora DeAngelis dealt with her own personal experience as both an employee, and as a union representative.

Kim Caron, Director-Business Development for Armstrong's National Alarm Monitoring and Past President of CANASA, recalls her early days in alarm response when calling 911 seemed like a big step to her growth over the years into a leader who has helped to shape the security industry in Canada.

Hope, B.C., Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy speaks with Scott Wilkinson, senior academy officer in the training academy at the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) about how the department is using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to augment firefighting efforts. Scott provides an overview of the benefits of using drones to help incident commanders at fire scenes. He also explains how a department can get started, where to purchase equipment and the type of training that’s needed. The WFPS now has 18 trained pilots across four shifts as well as a cadre of trained visual observers to assist the pilots.

The National Fire Protection Association’s Canadian Regional Director, Shayne Mintz is the guest speaker on Fire Fighting in Canada the Podcast’s latest episode titled “Cannabis Challenges in the Fire Service”. Mintz shares several ways the legalization of cannabis in Canada will challenge the fire industry and what chiefs can expect to face and tips on how to get a good handle on the changes and safety concerns without getting overwhelmed. He also shares valuable resources and where chiefs can start looking for more information.

Victor Harding is a familiar face in the security industry, from his days at Voxcom to owning his own business. Victor, a regular contributor to SP&T News with his Lessons Learned column, shares some of those lessons with us, including his views on the state of alarms and monitoring in Canada today.

Donelda Gowan maintains adverse events are common with massage therapy intervention. In her 2017 dissertation, Gowan posits, "Safety in massage therapy is understudied. There is little information on what constitutes an adverse event from the perspective of stakeholders including MTs, other health care providers, insurers, regulators, educators, and patients." Today we discuss the frequency of adverse events related to massage therapy, concepts of hurt versus harm and harm versus healing, patient and practitioner perspectives on adverse events, and what the profession can do to measure and monitor adverse events to inform the profession at large, and build public trust.

Firefighters should brace for more forest and wildland blazes across Canada in future years because it will be the new norm as climate change takes hold. Wildland fire experts and ecologists warn that wildfires will likely become more widespread and destruction will become more severe during the summer months in Canada. Fire Fighting in Canada editor Grant Cameron spoke about the issue with Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at the University of Alberta. Flannigan says the jet stream appears to be getting weaker, which is creating conditions that are ideal for starting and fueling wildland blazes.

In our premier podcast episode, we talk with Les Tomlin, president and co-founder of PizzaForno, a Canadian company that introduced an automated vending machine that cooks and dispenses pizza at five locations in the Toronto area. Canadians Les and William Moyer together created a version of an oven based on patented technology from SAS Adial, which is based in France. Les joins us to talk about the company's pizza-vending concept, how it came about, how it works and the company future plans. This podcast is brought to you by Canadian Pizza magazine, the voice of the Canadian independent pizzeria.

20/20: focus on safety features compelling conversations, generated by questions from you, OHS Canada readers, visitors and social media members. Each podcast features a “hot topic” affecting Canada’s safety landscape, with advice and tips from industry experts. Every episode will hopefully entertain you, and will definitely inform you about the timely issues you need to know about. New episodes will be announced right here, and in each edition of OHS Canada’s weekly eNews. To find out more about upcoming 20/20 podcasts and entering your questions for us to cover, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Massage therapists frequently experience strained relationships with the public and media. Associations with the sex trade, sexual abuse, alternative therapies and insurance fraud have hurt the profession. Practitioners can influence public perception by reaching out to the media while sending the right messages to the front line of their practice. In this edition of On the Table, we speak with RMT and veteran of public and media relations, Margaret Wallis-Duffy. Learn critical skills to position you in positive light, whether speaking to a referring health professional, your patients, or the media.