June 29, 2009 -Allard Contractors Ltd. of Coquitlam has been honoured with a provincial Ministry of Energy and Mines safety award.

The awards were presented at the 47th Annual Mine Safety Awards Banquet, hosted by the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines in Squamish on Saturday, June 6, 2009. The awards are held annually to recognize the safety achievements of mines across B.C.

Allard Contractors was one of seven companies to share the Stewart-O'Brian Safety Award, presented to larger mines working 35,000 or more man-hours without a lost-time accident in 2008. The Coquitlam-based company received the award in recognition of its operations at the company's  Pit "D" in Coquitlam. The Stewart-O'Brian award is named after B.C.'s first mine rescue instructors, J.D. Stewart and George O'Brian.

This year's award marks the 14^th consecutive year Allard Contractors has been recognized for safety achievements for one of their Pits by the Ministry of Energy and Mines.      

"I believe that for us in the gravel business, to achieve that many man-hours without a time-lost injury goes a long way to send a message to the community that we respect both worker safety and public safety. It says we and our staff are aware of safety, and it's incredibly important in a tough industry and a tough business," said company vice-president James T. Allard.

"We have managed to have a safe workplace consistently, and that's why we've been honoured with these awards many times in the past."