TORONTO–Federal Minister of Labor Dr. Kellie Leitch recently wrote to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), asking the group to encourage member carriers to take action to address the issue of psychological health in the workplace.

The minister’s letter refers to sources of data showing that a significant proportion of the Canadian workforce suffers from some form of mental illness, affecting worker productivity, safety and workplace losses, according to the group.

The minister’s letter provides a link to tools that can assist employers in assessing, addressing and mitigating psychological health and safety issues from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).

It also enables employees to support their colleagues dealing with mental health issues by connecting them to the appropriate mental health resources.

During the September 2014 meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of labor, they agreed to promote the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) voluntary National Standard of Canada for psychological health and safety in the workplace as a best practice. 

“I have been actively encouraging the adoption of the Standard in federally regulated workplaces,” The Minister wrote. “I believe that the Standard can fill a critical need for employers by helping them to assess psychological risks in their workplaces, take action to prevent psychological harm to their employees and deal with mental illnesses when they occur.”

CTA said a task force it put together to look into the driver shortage is addressing mental health in trucking and it plans to hold a webinar on the subject later this year.