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Board of Directors

Our appointed Board of Directors is made up of a diverse group of people who are chosen to represent the interests of the stakeholders we serve. Our primary stakeholders include the public, workers, and employers in B.C. Directors bring a wide range of industry experience and perspectives to their positions.

The role of our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors is appointed by the provincial Minister of Labour. They serve as stewards of WorkSafeBC. The Workers Compensation Act sets out requirements that ensure our Board is balanced and represents the public interest, as well as the interests of B.C.’s employers and workers.

The Board is comprised of professionals from many communities, including:

  • health care/rehabilitation
  • actuarial
  • law/ law enforcement
  • occupational health and safety

Directors have five key priorities. They are:

  • Eliminate serious injury and death in the workplace
  • Improve return-to-work outcomes and prevent avoidable disability
  • Maintain an effectively-operating business
  • Maintain a compensation system with long-term sustainability that contributes to society
  • Respond effectively to changing social and economic realities

Members of our Board of Directors


Ralph McGinn

(December 2017 - December 2021)

Ralph McGinn served as president and CEO of WorkSafeBC from 1998 to 2003. Before that, he was responsible for overseeing the revision of B.C.'s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulations, which came into effect in 1998. He has also contributed to a wide range of policy and regulatory development for mining safety and health and environmental protection around the world, including Australia, South America, and Africa. He is a professional engineer and has had senior roles with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, including chief inspector of mines from 1988 to 1993.

(December 2018- December 2020)

Donald Smith is a Partner of Smith Pension & Actuarial Consultants Inc. Over the past 40 years, he has provided actuarial, pension, employee benefits, compensation and investment consulting services to organizations in the public and private sectors, including some of Canada's largest corporations and employee organizations, joint boards of trustees, and federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Prior to his consulting career, he spent five years in the life insurance industry, in actuarial and information technology roles. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
Baltej Dhillon

(December 2017 - December 2020)

Baltej Dhillon is a member of the RCMP and has served as a police officer for the past 27 years. In 2016, he became responsible for the force's Operational Readiness and Response program related to emergency response. He created the Sikh Leadership and Police Committee on Gang Violence and led the project for two years to fight against youth criminalization. He has served as an investigator on Air India task forces and the Pickton investigation. He received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service in 2012 and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Award for community service in 2003.
Brooks Patterson

(September 2015 - December 2019)

Brooks Patterson is the safety manager for Norland Limited (formerly The Pacific Group of Companies), which operates a number of construction companies. He has extensive experience in occupational health and safety and holds certification as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP). He has extensive board experience, including roles as past chair of the BC Construction Safety Alliance and secretary-treasurer of SkillPlan.

(acting president and CEO)
Kay Teschke

(December 2017 - December 2020)

Kay Teschke is a professor emeritus in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. Her research has included studies of occupation and Parkinson’s disease, back injuries in heavy industry, water quality and gastrointestinal illnesses, and transport infrastructure influences on cycling injury risk. She received her academic training in environmental health at BCIT, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Washington in Seattle.
Lee Loftus

(December 2017 - December 2019)

Lee Loftus has served as business manager of the BC Insulators Union from 2008 to present, as well as from 1992 to 1999. He has been president of the BC Building Trades since 2009, and previously served on the Board of Governors for the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Council. He has a long history of serving on boards, associations, committees, and councils, including the Canadian Standards Association, Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, Insulation Industry Apprenticeship Board, Vancouver and District Metal Trades Council, as well as various WorkSafeBC committees.
Lillian White

(January 2015 - December 2019)

Lillian White is president of Treen Safety, a Vancouver-based company that specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of health, safety, and protective equipment. She served as both chair and director of the BC Assessment Authority, and is a certified general accountant. In 2002 she was recognized by the Association for Women in Finance with the PEAK award for performance and excellence.
Lynn Bueckert

(January 2015 - December 2019)

Lynn Bueckert is the director and assistant to the president of the BC Federation of Labour (BCFED), and former director of occupational health and safety with the BCFED.
Margaret McNeil

(January 2015 - December 2019)

Margaret McNeil is the chief executive officer of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. Her extensive experience in leadership and management includes her former role as vice-president of operations at BC Housing, senior roles in the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the Ministry of Health, and work with the former Vancouver Health Department. She has extensive board experience in the non-profit sector and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing. She also completed the executive program at Queen’s University.