SMARTRISK congratulates Paul Kells, President of Safe Communities Canada, on being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Laws degree from Acadia University in Halifax. In presenting it, Dr. Peter McLeod of the university said, “It is difficult to fully appreciate the effectiveness of prevention programs… Suffice it to say that some of you, perhaps, would not be here today if it were not for the determination, dedication and hard work of this man and his efforts to make Canada the safest country in the world.”

A former head of the National Current Affairs Radio division of CBC, the Halifax resident also ran successful communication businesses and a transportation company before a life-altering turn of events in November 1994. His 19-year-old son Sean died of burns incurred from a preventable industrial explosion on only his third day of work. Sean’s unnecessary death motivated Mr. Kells to devote himself to preventing other needlessly lost lives and injuries, especially among youth.

To that end, in 1996 he founded Safe Communities Canada, a national charity devoted to reducing injuries and promoting cultures of safety. There are now 61 designated Safe Communities across Canada encapsulating almost a quarter of our population. The Canadian model Mr. Kells developed has played a leading role in the creation of similar foundations internationally and Safe Communities Canada has been accredited as an International Safe Community Certifying Centre by The World Health Organization.

In 2002, Mr. Kells created the Passport to Safety. This is a national, online workplace standard, originally designed to provide young workers the opportunity to obtain basic understanding of how to protect themselves from injury on the job, that now is applicable to workers of all ages and allows tracking of hundreds of health and safety training modules through printable transcripts or passports. Over 465,000 Canadians have completed a Passport to Safety Program Test and tens of thousands of others beyond our borders.

Mr. Kells adds his Doctor of Civil Laws to a number of other honours he’s received. He is a Member of the Order of Ontario and has been decorated with the Meritorious Service Medal (Civilian) by the Governor General of Canada.”