Spotlight on the 2026 Safety Pinnacle Awards
Last week on June 18, B.C. business and safety leaders joined the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC to celebrate the shared commitment of making workplaces safer for everyone. The evening was a reminder of what can be achieved when dedication and leadership come together.
At this year’s Safety Pinnacle Awards, companies were recognized for setting the standard in workplace safety—leading by example and inspiring others to follow.
Amid laughter, conversation, and a palpable sense of pride, honourees took their moment in the spotlight, applauded by peers who understand the impact of their work.
And while the awards were many, the truth is simple: in our eyes, every one of you is a winner.
The 2026 Safety Pinnacle Award Recipients:
The 2026 Safety Pinnacle Award – Excellence Category Winners:
2026 Safety Pinnacle Topaz Award Recipients
This award is presented to companies who have successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive health & safety management system to OSSE (Occupational Safety Standard Excellence)/WorkSafeBC’s COR certification standards.
2026 Safety Pinnacle Sapphire Award Recipients
The Sapphire Award recognizes an organization for the continuing commitment to workplace health and safety excellence by leadership through participation in a mix of related training, advocacy, leadership, and mentorship activities.
2026 Safety Pinnacle Emerald Award Recipients
In addition to maintaining their OSSE certification and the continuing commitment of leadership to workplace health and safety excellence, the Emerald Award recognizes companies who have successfully reduced their Injury Rate below their average Classification Unit (CU) over a 3 year period.
2026 Safety Pinnacle Ruby Award Recipients
This Ruby Award is for companies who continue to meet the criteria for the Emerald Award while demonstrating the ability to improve their Experience Rating by 10% over a period of 3 years after receiving OSSE Certification.
2026 Safety Pinnacle Awards - Excellence Award Categories
The Safety Pinnacles Awards – Excellence Award categories recognize the teamwork, dedication, and innovation of companies who take steps towards building a thriving safety cultures and work to keep their teams safe.
Winners for each of these Awards are determined by an external panel of judges who evaluate each nomination on various criteria.
Thank you to all the nominees for sharing your stories and achievements. We look forward to seeing your nominations for next year’s awards.
Joint Health and Safety Committee Excellence Award
The JHSC Excellence Award recognizes a company’s safety committee for excellence beyond regulatory requirements—for cohesive teamwork that makes a positive impact on workplace culture.
Garaventa Lift Canada is a global manufacturer of individual custom lift solutions for commercial and residential applications. Garaventa visibly prioritizes safety, encouraging team members to get involved in all facets of health and safety practices.
Congratulations to the 2026 winner Garaventa Lift Canada Ltd. (Surrey, BC) and finalists Hevvy Toyo Pumps (Coquitlam, BC) and West Coast Reduction Ltd. (Vancouver, BC).
Small Business People First Award
The Small Business People First Award—recognizes a small manufacturer that goes above and beyond to make a positive impact on workplace culture with demonstrated leadership.
McCrea’s Welding is a highly respected, Indigenous-owned structural and marine welding company. McCrea’s has grown to be a trusted supplier for major industrial clients, local contractors, First Nations communities, and coastal municipalities.
Congratuations to the 2026 winner McCrea’s Welding Ltd. (Campbell River, BC) and finalist Canada’s Signal Company (Richmond, BC).
Manufacturing Safety Innovator Award
The Manufacturing Safety Innovator Award recognizes a company for innovation in OHS management systems, health and safety training, wellness programs, and culture.
NCS International is one of the largest distributors of electrical, electronic, datacom, fibreoptic cable, cable accessories, and wire in Canada. Beyond behaviour-focused messaging NCS approaches safety and risk control by design—through engineering, task redesign, and standardization.
Congratulations to the 2026 winner NCS International (Abbotsford, BC) and finalists CKF Inc. (Langley, BC) and Flexiforce Canada (Abbotsford, BC).
Fantastic Four Risk Leader Award
The Small Business People First Award—recognizes a small manufacturer that goes above and beyond to make a positive impact on workplace culture with demonstrated leadership.
Hevvy/Toyo Pumps is an independent slurry manufacturer that designs and manufactures high-quality industrial solids handling pumps. Their practical, people-focused approach has shaped a workplace where safety is openly discussed, continuously improved, and shared by all.
Congratulations to 2026 winner Hevvy Toyo Pumps (Coquitlam, BC) and finalists Nanak Foods (Surrey, BC) and NCS International (Abbotsford, BC).
Culture of Courage Award
Presented for this first time this year, the Culture of Courage Award recognizes a company that actively fosters psychological safety and respect—a workplace where employees are encouraged to participate, collaborate, and speak up.
Team members at Kicking Horse Coffee are encouraged to take full responsibility for what they do, even when it may be tough. They are also encouraged to own their own mistakes, reach out for help when they are struggling, and know that their actions, choices, and results matter.
Congratulations to the 2026 winner Kicking Horse Coffee (Invermere, BC) and finalists Colonial Countertops (Various Locations, BC) and Con-Force Structures Ltd. (Delta, BC).
2026 Soaring Eagle Leadership Award
The Soaring Eagle Leadership Award recognizes an executive leader or business owner for exemplary and inspiring leadership that includes commitment to health and safety.
Our judges looked for strong influencers in health and safety. People who demonstrate a clear passion and commitment to ensuring their people, their peers, make it home safely at the end of the day.
Each of the nominees shone in their own way, making the deliberations of the judges that much more difficult.
All the nominees are very deserving candidates and the judges offer their sincere congratulations to them all. The judges would also like to thank all the nominees for their willingness to share in an open and honest way their vision, focus and experiences. The judging committee very much appreciate the trust this year’s nominees placed in the application and interview process.
Ayissi Nyemba (Winner)
CEO & Founder | EMKAO Foods
Ayissi is founder and CEO of EMKAO Foods, a purpose-driven company sourcing premium cacao exclusively from Cameroon. Over the past five years, her work has directly supported over 500 farmers, while strategic partnerships and sustainable practices have positioned EMKAO Foods as a recognized leader in ethical chocolate production. Ayissi leads with courage, vision, and heart—elevating an underrepresented origin, building equitable markets, and inspiring others to lead with purpose.
When talking about safety and the role of leadership, Ayissi shares: “Leaders are the architects of community wellbeing. When employees walk into Emkao, they trust us with their personal health and livelihood. Safety is a human right, and as a leader and founder my first job is duty of care.”
Congratulations, Ayissi!
Dr. Rishi Gupta (Finalist)
CEO & Founder | Setu Technologies Inc.
“In the fast-paced world of clean-tech start-ups, it is easy to overlook safety in favour of speed. Rishi has done the opposite. He has built a culture where the safety of the individual is the company’s greatest asset. He is a leader who leads by example, embeds safety into the identity of Setu technologies, and protects his people as fiercely as he pursues innovation.”Mike Robbins (Finalist)
CEO | Carmela Industries
“As a leader, health and safety is our first responsibility. And any trade off against it is never worth the cost. Without a strong, organization wide health and safety culture, incidents are inevitable, and reactive focus follows. It’s far better to build a proactive, safe environment that enables sustained, disruption free success. I start everyday with this in mind, knowing that working hard on safe operations now, prevents working even harder to correct un-safe acts and situations later.”2026 Apex Award
The Apex Award recognizes an individual in a member organization for exceptional commitment, passion, dedication, and action in support of health and safety.
This award shines a light on a health and safety advocate and champion for recognition. While this is an individual award, the performance of each organizations health and safety is taken into consideration. To protect the integrity of these awards, we rely on the experience and judgment of a highly experienced and qualified panel of third-party health and safety experts. The judges were rigorous and meticulous in their review.
Kristen Stinson (Winner)
Sr. Vice-President & Chief People Officer | Regency Fireplace Products
Kristen is a senior executive leader at Regency Fireplace Products. She drives the company’s global people and culture strategy, overseeing product development, operations, health and safety, technical services, and IT.
With deep leadership experience in manufacturing, energy, and healthcare, she is known for leading complex organizations through transformation and delivering people-centreed strategies that accelerate performance and growth.
Congratulations, Kristen!
Breanne O’Neil (Finalist)
Talent Acquisition Manager | Hevvy Toyo Pumps North America
Jennifer Sites (Finalist)
EHS Manager | Agrifoods International Cooperative
2026 Maureen Shaw Safety Legacy Award
In honour of Maureen Shaw, this award was created to recognize emerging leaders in health and safety.
Individuals are judged on their commitment, passion, and dedication to workplace health and safety. Recipients of this award will also receive $2,500 to support professional development.
This award shines a light on an emerging health and safety advocate and champion. The judges were rigorous and meticulous in their review.
Sandra Tanemura (Winner)
Food Safety & health and Safety Manager-Western Canada| Andrew Peller Ltd.
Sandra consistently demonstrates a genuine passion for ensuring every employee returns home safely.
She leads by example in all aspects of safety culture. Her approach is proactive rather than reactive: identifying risks early, encouraging open dialogue, and working to embed safety into daily operations so it’s not treated as an afterthought.
Roemar Bryan (Finalist)
Operations Manager | Liberty Tire Recycling Canada
For the people at Liberty Tire Recycling, one of the things that stands out most when they meet Roemarr is trust. Roemarr effortlessly earns a deep and authentic trust, built on respect, from his colleagues.
This gives him the unique ability to inspire, influence, and guide others toward safer, better practices—not because they are told to, but because they believe in him.
Benjamin Laborde (Finalist)
SHES Specialist—Lead Digital Solutions | Orica Digital Solutions
Benjamin’s influence on colleagues and the overall safety culture at Orica Digital has been profound.
He approaches his work with a people-first mindset, prioritizing culture building over compliance-driven interactions. His communication style is clear, respectful, and educational, creating space for honest, solution-oriented safety conversations.
2026 Academic Awards
Daneen Skilling Scholarship
The Daneen Skilling Scholarship is an annual award created in honour of past board chair Daneen Skilling and awarded each year to a post-secondary student pursuing a career in health and safety.
Daneen is a passionate health and safety advocate and leader; and we are honoured to recognize a student in her name.
Congratulations, Gohar Nazem!
Gohar is enrolled in BCIT’s Occupational Health and Safety Diploma Program.
“Through her experience supporting people recovering from workplace injuries, and research into long-term health outcomes, Gohar has developed a strong interest in prevention.”
Julie Cole Bursary
The loss of Julie Cole in 2019 left a hole in B.C.’s safety community. Julie was an external auditor for the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC as well as a health and safety manager and trainer—she was a vital member of our safety community.
This annual bursary to honours Julie’s spirit, passion, and dedication to occupational health and safety.
Congratulations, Shrividhya Iyer!
Shrividhya is a student at BCIT’s Occupational Health and Safety Diploma Program.
“Having observed gaps in safety culture early in her career, Shrividhya is motivated to help build workplaces where employees feel supported and protected.”
The 2026 Safety Pinnacle Award Sponsors
Threads of Life Silent Auction
Through this year’s silent auction, more than $5,000 was raised for Threads of Life—an organization supporting families of seriously and fatally injured workers.
A heartfelt thanks to our silent auction donors and bidders!
