New Alberta Workers was a 40-month program created to help new to Alberta workers (immigrants, refugees, and people who come on a temporary work permit – TFWs) to know more about their Health and Safety rights as workers.

The New Alberta Workers program, a collaboration between the Alberta Workers’ Health Centre, the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary, and the Edmonton Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative, has now wrapped up.

We have learned much from our partner organizations who have helped us research, develop, and deliver this program to approximately 3000 immigrant, refugee and migrant workers across the province. We have also learned a great deal from the workers themselves, the barriers they face to accessing their rights to safe, healthy and fair workplaces, and the need for peer-based, culturally appropriate, and learner-centred approaches to education, as well as the need to provide a continuum of supports for new Alberta workers.

We wish to thank all of the people who worked so hard to deliver workshops to new Alberta workers across the province.

Final Reports and Resources

Injured Worker Case Study

Program Funding

SSEC Canada was convicted of several counts of violating Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, leading to the April 24th, 2007 deaths of Liu Hongliang and Ge Genbao (and the injury of Wang Dequan and Li Riuming) all workers engaged in the work of that employer.On January 24, 2013 SSEC Canada was sentenced for this violation, resulting in the order to pay amounts to fund the NAW program. Funds were administered through the Alberta Law Foundation.