Shane Mercer

Shane Mercer

Canadian Occupational Safety

Shane Mercer

Senior Editor

20+ years experience282,875 Total views on Canadian Occupational Safety in 2025

Shane's specialty topics

Safety Culture Risk Management Environmental Health, Sustainability, And Social Governance OHS Regulation Workers' Compensation

Shane Mercer is the senior editor of Canadian Occupational Safety, a leading publication covering workplace safety, regulation, and risk management for professionals across Canada’s most complex industries. Drawing on more than two decades in broadcast and digital media, he leads editorial strategy and day‑to‑day operations for the COS website, shaping story selection, commissioning, and publication across channels to drive audience engagement and industry impact.

He reports and edits original news, long‑form features, and investigative pieces, and regularly conducts in‑depth interviews with senior safety professionals, executives, and industry leaders to surface practical insights for readers.

Outside of his editorial work, Shane is an active nature lover and sports enthusiast, which helps keep his reporting grounded in real‑world experience.

Connect with Shane on LinkedIn

How I think about writing for this industry…

“Covering occupational health and safety means connecting with leaders who carry the weight of a simple but profound responsibility: making sure their people go home safe every day. I bring 20+ years of journalism to that beat, telling the stories, surfacing the data, and asking the hard questions that keep the health and safety community informed and accountable.”

Also published by

CTV News · Newstalk 1010

Featured content from Shane

Safety inspectors used as tax spies then treated as ‘dispensable’ Canada’s Arctic safety failures EXCLUSIVE: Ontario to enshrine ISO 45001 and COR as equivalent

Previous experience

  • Canadian Occupational Safety — Senior Editor
  • CTV News — Producer
  • Newstalk 1010 — Anchor/Reporter
  • CTV News — Report/Videographer
  • Newstalk 1010 — Reporter

Education

  • B.A. in Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University)
  • Diploma in Broadcast Journalism, Loyalist College

Read the latest stories by Shane

Injured worker advocates blast Bill 105 trade-offs, WSIB cuts

Thunder Bay advocate Eugene Lefrancois says Bill 105 trades higher wage benefits for weaker protections down the road

Injured worker advocates blast Bill 105 trade-offs, WSIB cuts

WorkSafeNB warns AI can't replace due diligence in safety policies

A WorkSafeNB consultant explains why AI-drafted health and safety documents still need a human check before they go into effect

WorkSafeNB warns AI can't replace due diligence in safety policies

Financial stress is now a workplace hazard, TELUS doctor says

TELUS Health's Dr. Matthew Chow explains why cost-of-living worries belong on every safety leader's risk register

Financial stress is now a workplace hazard, TELUS doctor says

Trafficking charges stayed against Ontario scrap metal owner

The Crown stayed Mikhael Akin's 2023 human trafficking charges, and he says employers must vet labour agencies themselves

Trafficking charges stayed against Ontario scrap metal owner

Fitness for duty summit to explore oral fluid testing, legal risk

DriverCheck's chief medical officer previews the October 28 virtual summit, covering oral fluid testing, the law and accommodation duties

Fitness for duty summit to explore oral fluid testing, legal risk

Newfoundland safety software helped protect 9/11 cleanup crews

Safety leader recalls tracking emergency responders' protective gear at the World Trade Center site

Newfoundland safety software helped protect 9/11 cleanup crews

Care economy workforce faces burnout crisis as wages stagnate

United Way Centraide Canada report finds community services workers earn 31 per cent less than the economy-wide average

Care economy workforce faces burnout crisis as wages stagnate

AI panel speakers preview Canadian Safety Summit 2026

Purolator and 4Refuel safety leaders detail how AI adoption, not implementation, is reshaping frontline risk management

AI panel speakers preview Canadian Safety Summit 2026

Colony Construction rebuilds its PPE program as mining work grows

Safety manager Taylor Zuffa details Colony's shift to leading-edge fall protection and Type 2 hard hats

Colony Construction rebuilds its PPE program as mining work grows

AI chatbot will replace call centre jobs at WSIB, union alleges

WSIB won't confirm or deny the chatbot, but the union warns of deeper cuts beyond the 566 already announced

AI chatbot will replace call centre jobs at WSIB, union alleges