WorkSafeNB recognized the 2026 Safety Star Award recipients during its annual Health and Safety Conference in Fredericton. The award honours individuals and organizations that are making a lasting impact on workplace health and safety through leadership, partnership and a strong commitment to prevention.
The 2026 Safety Star Award recipients are:
Presented annually, the Safety Star Awards celebrate those who go beyond to foster safer workplaces, champion positive safety cultures and inspire others to make health and safety a priority.
“The recipients we recognize today are helping make New Brunswick the safest place to work through their leadership, innovation and commitment to health and safety,” said Tim Petersen, President and CEO of WorkSafeNB. “Their efforts are creating safer workplaces, empowering workers and demonstrating the impact a strong health and safety culture can have in workplaces.”
Julie Bergeron, Education and Early Childhood Development, Government of New Brunswick, and Serge LeBlanc, District scolaire francophone Sud
Safety is built through collaboration. Julie, an occupational health and safety consultant, and Serge, educational specialist for trades, have worked together to strengthen health and safety education within the skilled trades program at École Mathieu-Martin.
Their partnership is helping students develop the knowledge and skills needed to recognize hazards, work safely and adopt a strong safety mindset before entering the workforce, creating safer workplaces across New Brunswick.
“This isn’t one person who is involved with health and safety,” said Julie. “It’s a movement. It’s people saying: ‘This is important. This culture is important and I want to be a part of it.’ It’s the best gift I could ever receive.”
“For me, the Safety Star Award validates all the work we have accomplished over the last 10 years with continuous improvement projects. We collaborated, and the entire team rallied behind me to make this progress and to ensure healthy and safe environments for our staff and our students,” said Serge.
Sancton Access Inc.
Sancton Access Inc. has demonstrated a strong commitment to creating a workplace where health, safety and well-being come first. By integrating safety into everyday operations and encouraging employee participation, the company has built a culture where safety is a shared responsibility.
“What this award means to me here at Sancton is recognition for the safety culture that we've built across the organization,” said Nathaniel Travis, Director – Operations, of Sancton Access Inc. “Safety doesn't just operate in a silo of the safety department. It's a responsibility for everyone across the organization, and to have this recognition means a lot for everyone within Sancton Group.”
WorkSafeNB proudly recognizes the 2026 Safety Star Award recipients for their leadership and commitment to workplace health and safety and thanks them for their positive impact in their workplaces and communities.
Congratulations to all the Safety Star Award recipients!