First aid requirements for the workplace vary from province to province and can be found in applicable occupational health and safety legislation. In British Columbia, minimum requirements for first aid are set out in Schedule 3a of Part 3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OSHR). 

Tree planting operations in BC are considered moderate-risk in most cases, but can be elevated to high-risk if the types of injuries and their severity are higher than in normal planting sites. Tree planting workplaces and usually identified as Class 4 workplaces as they are normally more than 30 minutes from hospitals or attended ambulance stations (classified as remote) and have areas in the workplace that emergency medical services and ambulance attendants cannot access (classified as inaccessible). By reviewing the table for Moderate-risk Class 4 workplaces, one can readily identify the first aid requirements for each site.

First aid attendants and kits in BC are classified as basic, intermediate, or advanced. These were formerly classified as Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 before changes made in 2024. Higher numbers of employees require higher levels of first aid coverage:

• At minimum, any moderate-risk tree planting or silviculture operation with more than one person requires a Basic first aid attendant with a transportation endorsement (TE), a Basic first aid kit, and access to emergency equipment so that an injured worker can be evacuated in an emergency.

• Once ten employees are present, an Intermediate first aid attendant (+TE) and emergency transportation vehicle (ETV) is required.

• At twenty workers, the employer must provide an Advanced first aid attendant, ETV, and dressing station for twenty employees.  Larger numbers of workers (generally found only in camps) require additional facilities such as first aid rooms and additional first aid attendants.

First aid training requirements in British Columbia

The following is a breakdown of the essential first aid training courses and regulations that employers must follow to meet or exceed the minimum standards for worker safety in tree planting workplaces.

• The transportation endorsement is a BC-specific one-day course that is required in addition to the 1-day Basic and 2-day Intermediate first aid course.

• The 10-day Advanced course already covers the transportation endorsement component.

• It is important to note that the first aid requirements set out in Schedule 3a only identify the MINIMUM requirements for the workplace, and employers are required to provide additional first aid resources in sites where there are significant obstacles to reaching medical aid, such as complex terrain, rivers or lakes crossed by ferry, or longer distances from hospital.

• Therefore, most tree planting employers are expected to provide higher levels of first aid attendants, enhanced emergency rescue services, or better to ensure workers have sufficient first aid resources to manage any foreseeable emergency in the remote wilderness environment where they work.

First aid for tree planting in Alberta

In Alberta, tree planting is considered high-hazard work, and employers must provide first aid resources that meet Schedule 2 of Table 7 of the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code.

Like British Columbia, the level of first aid resources required in Alberta increases as more employees are present in the workplace, with one Standard first aid attendant and a No.2 kit required for any group of two employees.

Two Standard first aid attendants are required when there are five employees, three Standard attendants plus a stretcher and splints at 20 employees, and four attendants with a stretcher and splints at 50 employees. A first aid room becomes necessary once a worksite has 100 employees present.

While the first aid tables in the Alberta OHS Code do not identify the need for emergency transportation equipment, Part 7 of the Code requires employers to have an emergency response plan for rescuing and evacuating an injured worker, and to train employees to perform this task. These requirements are less prescriptive than the BC regulations but ultimately set out similar requirements for having access to equipment, vehicles, and training that enables the rescue of a seriously injured worker from a remote wilderness location.