Occupational Health and Safety Council Members

T.J. (Tim) Bennett, Chair
CRSP, CHSC, COHC, SCO

Mr. Bennett is the Chair of the Council, originally appointed in 2001, the Chair reports to the Minister of Human Services.

Mr. Bennett is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional who holds these additional professional designations: CHSC, SCO-Fire and COHC. Presently he is the Vice President responsible for Health Safety Environment, Technical Training and Quality for NC Services Group. NC Services Group Ltd. provides comprehensive lift and heavy haul services throughout North America. Within the NC Services Group companies are Mullen Crane and Transport, Northern Crane Service, and Trans Tech Contracting Inc.

He came to the position with an extensive educational background spent studying at the University of Alberta’s School of Business, in addition he received a certificate in Occupational Health and Safety from that same university. Holding professional member status with the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, Mr. Bennett’s areas of expertise are in risk, litigation, and regulatory compliance. To date, he has 20 years experience in Health, Safety, and Environmental practices involved in the construction of major pipelines and industrial facilities. Prior to working with NC Services Group, he was with Enbridge Pipelines Inc. in the capacity of Manager of Major Projects HSE for North America.

In his spare time Tim enjoys experiencing the outdoors by fishing and hunting. He is also a hockey fan.

Peter Bowal

Peter earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta (1980), a Doctor Juris from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto (1982), and a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge (1986). He articled with the Alberta Court of Appeal and was admitted to the Law Society of Alberta in 1983. He practiced business law for several years and has been a professor at the University of Calgary since 1991.

Peter produced and hosted his own weekly radio talk show, “LawTalk,” on legal issues for the lay public. In 1998, he was a Canadian Fulbright Fellow to Arizona State University and was awarded the Fulbright Research Chair at Michigan State University in 2005. For 12 years, he served as a Presiding Justice of the Peace for Alberta, where he conducted bail hearings and issued warrants and other judicial orders in thousands of cases. He served as the only non-American Judicial Fellow at the United States Supreme Court.

He has taught law courses and made research presentations around the world. His primary field of research interest is employment law, in particular the law of whistleblowing, and dispute resolution. In 2007 the Government of Alberta named him the “Consumer Champion” for the province in recognition of his extensive and distinguished service to the consumer interest.

Maggie Fulford
BA, BScOT, OT(c), DC

Maggie Fulford is the Registrar of the Alberta College of Occupational Therapists. She graduated from the University of Alberta in Occupational Therapy in 1985 and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1991.

Her work has taken a wide variety of forms, including private practice as an occupational therapist focused on vocational rehabilitation, a chiropractor, and in the area of administrative tribunals. Her administrative tribunal work includes serving as a Chair for the Horse Racing Alberta Appeal Tribunal, Hearing Chair/Commissioner for Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers’ Compensation and Public member for the College and Association of Registered Nurse of Alberta.

Hal Griffith

Mr. Griffith is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional and Member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering. He is a Peace Officer with 30 years of experience serving the Province of Alberta. He has been a labour safety advocate for much of that time, serving as a Steward with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE). Mr. Griffith has enjoyed multiple elected positions and temporary secondments with AUPE. Presently he is a part of the AUPE Provincial Executive, representing over 80,000 worker families and their communities.

Mr. Griffith’s educational achievements include justice certification through the Solicitor General’s Staff College as well as a Certificate in OHS from the University of Alberta. He has served as a Partnerships Auditor and an OHS Certification Facilitator He facilitates additional training and workshops for a variety of groups. He has enjoyed leadership roles with a number of governance and implementation committees as a worker representative.

Hal’s spare time is most favourably spent outdoors with family and friends and near the river at the family farm.

Rob Munro
P. Eng

Rob earned a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta in 1986. Since that time he has spent more than 20 years in the chemical processing industry in a wide variety of roles, including product development, operations management, and quality management. For the last five years Rob has exclusively been responsible for health and safety activities for complex safety sensitive organizations, where he has gained considerable experience in implementing health and safety systems.

In 2009 Rob joined the University of Alberta as the Director of Environmental Health & Safety. In this role and through a diverse management team, Rob takes a leadership role in maintaining and improving safety performance throughout the University.

Rob is a professional Engineer registered with APEGGA and is a member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.

In his spare time, he enjoys camping with his family and coaching his sons’ baseball teams.

Nina Novak

Nina Novak is a safety and environment specialist that is currently providing environmental, health and safety team leadership for the City of Calgary’s Utilities and Environmental Protection Department. Prior to that she provided EHS management to private corporations and was a Safety Officer with the Alberta government. She spends her free time enjoying her family, maintaining the household, and improving her dressage skills.

Janice Peterson

Ms. Peterson was appointed to the Council as an Employee representative effective December 2011.

Ms. Peterson has been employed by United Nurses of Alberta since 1996. She has held a number of positions within this organization including labour relations, communications, education and most recently occupational health and safety.

Janice has long history as a workers advocate throughout her over 35-year involvement in the labour movement in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Before joining United Nurses of Alberta she was Director of the Alberta Workers Health Centre.

In addition to her experience advocating for healthy and safe environments Janice has acted as lay council representing workers at arbitrations, worker’s compensation appeals, professional discipline hearings and served on boards of arbitration.

Peter Schafer, Employer Representative
CRSP, EMT, Health and Safety Professional

Peter Schafer has been involved with industrial safety and emergency repsonse for 19 years. He has experience in various sectors including oil and gas, oil sands, transmission and construction. His experiences as a Firefighter/EMT and Health and Safety professional have assisted him in his career and daily life.

Andrew Smith
MA DEM, CRSP, CHSC

Andrew Smith holds the credentials of Canadian Registered Safety Professional, and Certified Health and Safety Consultant. Memberships include the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering and American Society of Safety Engineers. He also serves as the chair for the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals in Northern Alberta and has held several different positions within the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.

Education includes a graduate degree from Royal Roads University in Disaster and Emergency Management and a technical diploma in Health and Safety from the British Columbia institute of Technology. In addition to his educational background Andrew has instructed health and safety in the Occupational Health and Safety Certificate program at the University of Alberta and previously at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Current employment is as the Manager of Health and Safety with ATCO Gas, with over 20 years experience in civil construction, electrical utilities, government and the military along his career path.