The City of Pointe-Claire Awarded a CNESST Regional Grand Prize

The City of Pointe-Claire is proud to announce that its Public Works and Buildings Department was awarded a 2025 CNESST Regional Grand Prize in the “Innovation – Public Organizations” category on May 29. This honour recognizes a locally developed innovation: a pedestrian crossing painting template that significantly improves health, safety, and efficiency in road marking operations.

This regional recognition automatically qualifies the City of Pointe-Claire for the CNESST National Grand Prizes, which will be awarded in 2026. It is a great opportunity for our municipality to shine on the provincial stage and share this innovation with other public organizations across Québec.

This initiative was born from a concrete need: to reduce musculoskeletal risks and hazards related to road traffic for employees responsible for painting pedestrian crossings. Thanks to the ingenuity of Claude Lepage, a long-serving employee of the department, and the collaboration of the entire team, a brand-new template system was developed. Made from recycled materials and refined with the City’s support, the device allows crossings to be painted at waist height—without crouching or handling heavy metal stencils.

There are numerous benefits:

• Reduced back and knee strain
• Less time spent on the roadway, resulting in a lower risk of accidents
• More precise and consistent markings
• Simplified cleaning
• Increased efficiency for the teams

This innovation is the result of strong collaboration between field staff, continuous improvement and prevention leads, managers, and department leadership, who supported the project every step of the way.

A Shareable Innovation

This template could easily be adapted by other municipalities or organizations performing this type of road marking. Its simple, cost-effective, and modular design offers a practical solution to improve working conditions anywhere pedestrian crossings need to be painted.

Congratulations to the entire Public Works and Buildings team for this outstanding achievement, and best of luck in the national stage of the 2026 CNESST Grand Prizes!