City of Vancouver creates position as chief security officer after employee killed in accident
The City of Vancouver has announced the creation of a security chief.
The nominee for the position, Magnus Enfeldt, will report to Paul Mochrie, municipal director.
Mochrie announced the new job title in a press release on January 27th. In the bulletin, Mochrie referred to the recent death of a longtime city truck driver in the engineering street department.
"It's simply unacceptable that any of us are not coming home safely at the end of our working day," Mochrie said in the release. "But it has happened, including the recent loss of one of our engineering colleagues, Gord Dolyniuk.
"Managers, security professionals, union leaders, members of security committees and many other employees throughout the city work hard every day to ensure that our workplaces are safe," Mochrie continued. "That work is critical and I would like to acknowledge this effort. Nevertheless, as an organization, it is clear that we need to do better."
Dolyniuk, 64, a 32-year-old city employee, died in a work accident at the city's National Street farm on January 7. "This is a devastating loss for our organization," Mochrie said in an earlier statement. "The city extends our deepest condolences to Gord's family and to the many members of our staff who were Gord's friends and worked with him over the years."
The city is investigating the death, while WorkSafeBC is doing the same. The Canadian flag waved at half-staff at City Hall and the Courtyard after the incident.
Magnus Enfeldt
Enfeldt has headed the Vancouver Emergency Management Agency (VEMA) – which coordinates the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) – as well as the city's COVID-19 Response Task Force since December 2020. He has been employed in the city since 2014 and has been a former business consultant and since Director of Business Planning and Project Support.
He will continue to lead the COVID-19 force and VEMA. The city's existing protection team will report to Enfeldt.
"When there are safety incidents, the municipality always identifies and implements specific actions we need to take to improve," Enfeldt said in the announcement. "In addition to these specific actions, however, the municipality will make broader changes to improve safety in the workplace. It is a serious responsibility that I have been entrusted with and I look forward to helping to make a difference."
The new head of safety, who took his MBA from the University of Sweden in Karlstad, is a former Swedish speed skater (1994 Olympics), worked as a speed skater during the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and was general manager of the Richmond Olympic. Oval during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
"I would like to acknowledge Paul's determined action in creating this new position to ensure that the safety of our employees is a top priority for everyone in the city," Mayor Kennedy Stewart said in the January 27 bulletin. "Establishing a leadership position to coordinate security efforts across the organization will help us improve our performance in this important area."
In the announcement, the city outlined the mandate of the new position as follows:
review of current safety management systems and practices across the city
monitoring safety results and reporting results to City Leadership Team and departments
identify internal and external best practices
setting organizational priorities for action and ensuring the unification of the department's security efforts
works closely with occupational safety experts in the organization.
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