Oakville Hydro Receives the David Ellis Safety Award

(Oakville, ON) July 15, 2016 – Oakville Hydro is honoured to receive the first annual David Ellis Award from MySafeWork at Safety Talks 2016: A Lunch to Celebrate and Advance Worker Participation, which was hosted by eCompliance and held in Toronto yesterday.

The David Ellis Award honours a company that has demonstrated leadership and commitment in providing a safe workplace by encouraging worker participation and communication at all levels of the workforce.

“It means so much to Oakville Hydro to receive this award,” said Rob Lister, President and CEO of Oakville Hydro.  “Safety is our top priority and our company in partnership with MySafeWork has spread the importance of youth workplace safety throughout the years to our community and schools.  We will continue to dedicate our time and strive to ensure that all of our employees make it home safely each and every day.”

David Ellis, at the age of 18 was killed in a workplace accident on his second day on the job.  He was given limited training and no supervision.  After David's death, Rob Ellis started MySafeWork, a not-for-profit organization and registered charity.

“Had my son, David, had the proper training, supervision or worked at a company where he was encouraged to speak up about unsafe worker conditions, he would still be here today,” said Rob Ellis, founder of MySafeWork and Jersey of Courage.  “Our goal is to inspire companies to achieve greatness in safety culture. We want to see more companies respecting and protecting their workers like Oakville Hydro does.”

About Oakville Hydro

Oakville Hydro delivers reliable and safe electricity to more than 69,000 households and businesses in Oakville. The company maintains an active commitment to conservation, safety, and is strongly invested in the social and economic well-being of the Oakville community. Oakville Hydro received the 2015 Performance Excellence Award from the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA), recognizing the organization as an exceptional leader in the industry. In 2013, Oakville Hydro was recognized as "Large Company of the Year" by the Ontario Energy Association in service delivery and safety.

For more information, please visit www.oakvillehydro.com, follow us on Twitter @oakvillehydro, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/oakvillehydro.  For information on power interruptions, visit www.oakvilleoutages.ca.

About MySafeWork

MySafeWork is a non-profit organization committed to improving workplace safety.  Their mission is to prevent workers from getting injured and killed at work.  Since 1999, they've reached millions of people with a simple message: don't work for a company that doesn't respect you.  They want to inspire companies to achieve greatness in safety culture.  MySafeWork is also the driving force behind Jersey of Courage – social media campaign created to engage employees and students across the country.  For more information please visit: www.mysafework.com 

Contact:
Cassandra Umbriaco
Communications Specialist, Oakville Hydro
905-825-4424, cumbriaco@oakvillehydro.com