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Colin Vair has never been interested in safety as a box-ticking exercise. For the 2026 Canadian Occupational Safety’s Young Achiever, it has always been about something more fundamental: making sure people go home safe by fixing the system, not the person. That philosophy, combined with an exceptional ability to build trust across every level at McCloskey International, has earned him recognition.
Vair describes his career trajectory as “a combination of intent and opportunity.” Drawn early to practical, people-focused safety leadership, he has steadily progressed through roles that expanded his responsibility for risk management, compliance, and culture.
“I’ve focused on learning the operations deeply – how work is actually performed – and building credibility through consistent presence and follow-through,” he explains. This ground-level understanding has allowed him to design safety controls that workers actually use, rather than systems that gather dust in a binder.
Central to Vair’s philosophy is a clear distinction between safety leadership and safety enforcement. “I approach HSE as a leadership function, not a policing role,” he says. “My goal is to enable safe, efficient work by removing uncertainty, strengthening controls, and coaching teams to identify and manage risk.”
This attitude permeates how he handles the biggest challenge in his current role as health, safety, and environmental manager for McCloskey International: balancing fast-paced operational demands with consistent, high-quality HSE standards. His response is straightforward: stay visible on the floor, prioritize the highest risks, and partner with supervisors to create controls that are workable. “I aim to be firm on standards while being fair and practical in how they’re applied,” he says.
Perhaps Vair’s most significant achievement has been contributing to a remarkable safety milestone: nearly five years without a lost-time injury at his site in Peterborough, ON – and counting.
He says, “I don’t take the credit for it, as it is a team and culture on safety that needed to be built with the whole team on-site – from line workers and site leadership – to get us to this point.” It is a sentiment that captures the essence of his approach: safety as a collective responsibility, not a top-down mandate.
Over the past year specifically, he has strengthened hazard identification processes, introduced more consistent audits for production leaders, and implemented digital controls for high-risk tasks. He has also captained multiple capital expenditure projects that have moved into production – demonstrating that safety leadership and operational delivery are not at odds.
What distinguishes Vair from many in his field is his emphasis on relationships. His self-described strongest quality is “going above and beyond and working with everyone and building relationships.” He puts in the time to help staff across every department, operating from a simple but powerful belief: “if we don’t succeed as a team, we fail as a team.”
Vair’s speaks of developing others, contributing at a broader organizational level, and advancing proactive safety strategies that support both people and performance. “As a younger professional in my field, this recognition from COS has helped counter moments of self-doubt and affirmed that I am on the right path and making meaningful contributions early in my career,” he says.
1 McCloskey Rd, Otonabee-South Monaghan, ON K9J 0G6
705 957 9848
cvair@mccloskeyinternational.com
ca.linkedin.com/in/colin-vair-03989aaa
mccloskeyinternational.com
Colin Vair
Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager McCloskey International
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Bio
Milestones
2016
2017
2019
2024
2025
Started at McCloskey International
2016
JHSC Certified Worker Chair
2017
Health, Safety, and Environmental Coordinator at McCloskey International
2019
Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager at McCloskey International
2024
Top Year-on-Year Net Sales Award
2025
Milestones
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“A message is only as strong as the receiver’s ability to understand it. Good intent isn’t enough if the client can’t clearly see the benefits and trade-offs”
William Chan,
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