WorkSafeBC Home

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

The Board’s strategic priorities are outlined in WorkSafeBC’s strategic plan. They are:

  • Prevent workplace injury, disease, and death
  • Improve return-to-work and claims service
  • Operate an effective and efficient business
  • Maintain a financially sustainable system
  • Adapt to social, economic, and technological change
  • Strengthen government and stakeholder relationships

Members of our Board of Directors


Jeff Parr

(August 2020–June 2023)

Jeff Parr has served over 25 years in senior executive roles in the governments of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. He led the Occupational Health and Safety divisions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and was a deputy minister in Manitoba and Alberta for 15 years. He’s led teams through the major reform of labour legislation, encompassing workers’ compensation, occupational health and safety, labour relations, and employment standards statutes and regulations. He’s also served as chairperson for the Board of Directors of the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation and the Special Operating Agency Advisory Board for the Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner, and as president of the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation. In addition, he’s been the provincial government representative for both Saskatchewan and Manitoba on the Council of Governors for Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

Baltej Dhillon

(December 2017–December 2023)

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.

Michelle Laurie

(December 2019–December 2023)

Michelle Laurie is a Red Seal certified electrician and has spent the majority of her career as a worker representative and advocate. Most recently, she was a staff representative for United Steelworkers, and prior to that she represented workers in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, as President of Local 258. She has considerable board experience, having been a vice-president of the BC Federation of Labour and past chair of the boards of the Tumbler Ridge Health Care Centre, United Way of the Lower Mainland, BC Citizens for Public Power, and the Electrical Industry Training Institute.

Lee Loftus

(December 2017–December 2023)

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.

Cynthia Morton

(December 2022–December 2025)

Cynthia Morton is a lawyer and former deputy minister, who has worked in both B.C. and Ontario in the areas of labour and workers’ compensation, health care, and law. Ms. Morton was previously vice-president with the Ontario workers’ compensation board before becoming deputy there. She was also B.C.’s first children’s commissioner and has served as the CEO of a national organization, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Currently, Ms. Morton sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work. She is very familiar with the complex, operational, legal, regulatory, and stakeholder-relations issues arising out of the areas of health and safety, as well as workers’ compensation matters.

Rebecca Packer

(February 2020–December 2023)

Becky Packer is a registered physical therapist, with a special interest in long-term care, working for the Island Health Authority in the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation on Vancouver Island. She has extensive experience working with joint occupational health and safety committees and serves on the board of directors for the Health Sciences Association of British Columbia. She holds her Master’s of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria, and has completed a Graduate Certificate in Values-Based Leadership through Royal Roads University.

Lorna Pawluk

(February 2021–December 2023)

Lorna Pawluk, Q.C. has been involved in the workers’ compensation system since 1991 when she was appointed as an appeal commissioner in the predecessor tribunal to WCAT. In 2001, she opened her own practice advising employers in health and safety matters, later expanding to related employment matters. In 2006, she joined Bernard LLP as Associate Counsel. She has extensive board experience, having been on the board of the BC Safety Authority and chair of the Regulatory Practices Committee; the British Columbia Institute of Technology as vice chair, chair of the Human Resources Committee and chair of the Governance Committee; and chair of the National Administrative Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. She’s also been on the board of the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals, the Employer’s Forum, and the College of Massage Therapists of BC, where she also chaired the Inquiry Committee.

Donald Smith

(December 2018–December 2024)

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. He also holds an MBA in Finance and has completed the CFA and Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D programs.

Judy Village 

(October 2021–September 2023)

Judy Village is a certified professional ergonomist in Canada and the U.S. She has 40 years of experience consulting, teaching, and conducting research in occupational health and safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries. Judy has served as president of the Association of Canadian Ergonomists and as a board member of the Canadian College for the Certification of Professional Ergonomists. She has also been a member of numerous Canadian Standards Association committees that advanced occupational health and safety standards. Prior to starting Judy Village & Associates in 1997, Judy worked for the Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C., BC Research, and the Mines Accident Prevention Association of Ontario. Her consulting and research spans all workplace sectors, including manufacturing, construction, health care, mining, forestry and wood processing, fish and food processing, and retail foods. From 1993 to 2020, Judy was an adjunct faculty member in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Human Factors from Ryerson University and her MSc and BSc in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University and University of Waterloo, respectively.

 

Anne Naser is the president and CEO of WorkSafeBC. Prior to her appointment, she was the senior vice-president of information technology for the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and from 1998 to 2018 she had senior leadership roles with WorkSafeBC, most recently as chief information officer. In 2022, she was ranked at 16th on Vancouver Magazine’s annual Power 50 list of people and organizations making an impact, and in 2021 she was named one of the 500 most influential business leaders in B.C. by Business in Vancouver magazine. She was named Canadian CIO of the year by Computerworld in 2010, and also received a Premier’s Award for Innovation. Anne has a degree in economics from Simon Fraser University, and has previously held senior positions with Price Waterhouse Urwick and Canadian Airlines.