A history of occupational health and safety in Nova Scotia's offshore fishery, 1915-1985

Abstract

This work examines the history of occupational health and safety in the offshore fishing industry in Nova Scotia from 1915 to 1985. The year 1915 is significant as the year in which the second Workmen's Compensation Act was passed in Nova Scotia under which coverage was extended to offshore fishermen for the first time. The thesis examines the "August Gales" of 1926 and 1927 in terms of the effect it had on health and safety legislation. The impact of both the schooner fleet and the trawler fleet on health and safety are compared, as are the working conditions on these different types of fish-harvesting technologies. The decline of the schooner fleet and subsequent rise of the offshore trawler fleet led to different problems, especially with the attempts by the companies to retain the social relations of production that had existed in the schooner fishery. Throughout this thesis, the role of the state both on a provincial and federal level either as an ally to capital or as an abdicator of responsibility is examined.