A new employer representative, Lorna Pawluk, QC, has been appointed to WorkSafeBC’s board of directors for a two-year term, bringing to the job a strong background and a long track record of advancing worker health and safety.

Pawluk’s background includes extensive legal experience and leadership roles in worker protection and oversight. Pawluk is an Associate Counsel with Bernard LLP and has her own law practice, which focuses exclusively on occupational health and safety matters for employers.

Previously, she was an appeal commissioner of the former appeal division of the Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C. (WorkSafeBC). Active in her community, she was chair of the Inquiry Committee of the College of Massage Therapists of B.C. and a board member of the British Columbia Safety Authority (now Technical Safety BC) and the Employers’ Forum. Pawluk was also chair of the National Administrative Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

She holds a master of laws from the University of British Columbia, as well as degrees in law and political science from the University of Alberta.

Pawluk’s appointment fills a vacancy left by the previous employer representative, Lillian White, whose term expired in December 2020. Board members are subject to a maximum term of six years, as prescribed by the Workers Compensation Act.

This appointment for the employer representative follows the reappointment of five existing board members, whose terms also expired in December. Brooks Patterson, Baltej Dhillon, Kay Teschke, Michelle Laurie and Donald Smith were all reappointed in December. With Pawluk’s appointment, the board has a full complement to continue supporting B.C.’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WorkSafeBC board of directors serve as stewards of WorkSafeBC and the workers’ compensation system, and are responsible for approving WorkSafeBC’s compensation, rehabilitation and assessment policies and occupational health and safety regulations.

Information on WorkSafeBC’s board of directors can be found online: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/who-we-are/leadership/board-directors