Victoria: Baltej Dhillon has been appointed chair of WorkSafeBC’s board of directors for a three-year term. His tenure will begin from Friday, June 30.
The B.C. government said Dhillon is the first South Asian Canadian to take on this role and has been a member of WorkSafeBC’s board of directors since 2017.
He replaces the outgoing chair, Jeff Parr, who served from August 2020 to June 2023, the province added.
“I thank Jeff Parr for his service, and look forward to working with Baltej Dhillon to continuously improve our workers’ compensation system,” said Harry Bains, Minister of Labour.
“Baltej was a veteran police officer who brings expertise in law enforcement and six years of experience as a director at WorkSafeBC. He will be committed to WorkSafeBC’s role in investigating serious workplace incidents to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” he added.
“Dhillon had a distinguished career as a police officer for more than three decades, working in intelligence, special enforcement, protective services and in investigations for the Air India task force and the Pickton case. He made history by being the first RCMP member to wear a turban as part of the uniform. He also received Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals for community service,” the province said in a statement.
“I look forward to taking on the role as chair of WorkSafeBC’s board of directors,” Dhillon said.
“I am committed to working with our key stakeholders to improve workplace health and safety and help ensure that workers get home safely at the end of the day. I am excited to begin working as chair with my fellow board members and WorkSafeBC staff to continue making progress in improving the workers’ compensation system to meet the needs of workers, employers and others throughout the province,” Dhillon said.