Montréal, June 14th, 2024 - the Indigenous Centre for Occupational Health & Public Safety (ICOHPS) and the IRSST signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). It is designed to promote cooperation and joint research initiatives in order to identify, respond to and mitigate the specific health and safety issues concerning First Nations workers.

This MOU between the IRSST and the ICOHPS is a first in the history of the IRSST. It opens up big opportunities and creates a forum for mutual exchange and commitment aimed at improving health and safety conditions in Indigenous communities, and in particular, for the members of the roughly 40 communities in Quebec.

The agreement is the result of meetings and exchanges between the instigators of this initiative, namely, Toby Desnomie, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the ICOHPS, and Daniel Côté, researcher at the IRSST. For over a year now, they have been mobilizing their respective constituents and partners, raising their awareness and convincing them of the importance of initiating this partnership, all in a spirit of respect, listening and openness, three essential values in the search for solutions and strategies aimed at preventing industrial accidents and occupational diseases among workers in the various First Nations communities.