Workplace Injury Prevention

Making a Difference

Reducing workplace injuries

Every worker in Nova Scotia deserves to go home safe. 

When people are protected on the job, the impact reaches far beyond the workplace. Businesses stay open, services remain available, and communities stay strong.  

Preventing workplace injuries is one of the most effective ways to keep people safe on the job and strengthen the workforce. 

At WCB, we hold ourselves accountable for helping lead that work. We do it in collaboration with employers, workers, and safety partners across Nova Scotia. 

As shared in the latest impact of workplace injury report, and reflected in our progress below, we’ve reached historically low time-loss injury rates in the province. 

Accountability shows up in the results. 

Accountability starts with a clear, shared plan. 

Launched in 2025, Safer Workplaces Together is Nova Scotia’s new collaborative injury prevention strategy. It brings together WCB, the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, safety associations, employers, and workers to focus on reducing workplace injuries across the province. 

The strategy sets clear priorities for action: 

  • Reducing strains and sprains, the most common workplace injury 

  • Supporting employers to address psychological harm, including harassment and traumatic incidents 

  • Strengthening frontline leadership by equipping supervisors to build safer workplaces 

By aligning efforts across the system, Safer Workplaces Together is helping focus resources, strengthen coordination, and drive measurable progress in injury prevention. 

Safer Workplaces Together

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Working directly with employers

Preventing injuries means working directly with employers to understand risks and take action. Our workplace consultants partner with employers to identify opportunities for improvement—using data, listening to concerns, and helping find practical solutions. 

That support can take many forms: 

  • Reviewing data to identify risk areas 

  • Working with employers to solve specific challenges 

  • Providing targeted resources and tools 

  • Workshops, webinars, and on-site engagement 

This hands-on approach helps employers take action where it matters. 

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A small number of employers can have a big impact. 

At WCB, we insure more than 20,000 employers. Each year, about 1,500 have claims. Within that group, just 25 employers account for about 40% of time-loss injuries. 

Not because they’re unsafe—in many cases, they’re safety leaders. But because of their size, with many of them being our largest employers, their impact is greater. 

So, in 2025, we changed how we work. 

We began focusing more closely on employers with the greatest system impact, building stronger relationships, co-creating solutions, and working together on both prevention and return-to-work.  

And it’s working. 

Leading where it matters most 

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Accountability also means making it easier for workplaces to find and use the right information.  

In 2025, we launched a new WCB website to improve how workers and employers access return-to-work information after a workplace injury. We continue to update and make improvements based on feedback.  

By improving access to clear, consistent information, we’re supporting more informed decisions, more consistent action, and stronger prevention outcomes across Nova Scotia. 

Visit WCB’s website to get information and resources to strengthen safety practices, address risks, and build safer workplaces. 

Improving access to prevention and safety resources

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