On Thursday a long-time employee of at the Ministry of Forestry, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) office in Mansfield was posthumously honoured for something he invented.
Presented by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), the organization overseeing workplace health and safety in the province, holds an annual competition called the Grand Prize to celebrate innovations in both public and private enterprise.
One of the regional nominees from the Outaouais was the ATV ramp stabilization system created by the late Jean-François Baulne, who worked at the MFFP office in Mansfield for over 20 years.
The award was presented to Baulne’s widow, Claire Taillefer, by CNESST representatives François Asselin and Alain Trudel. Baulne passed away in 2016 at the age of 59, two years after his retirement.

Trudel spoke briefly about how workplace safety leads to increased productivity. The foresters who work for the MFFP travel into all sorts of wilderness, thus, having an efficient and safe way to load and unload their ATVs from a truck is essential.
Following the presentation, a video was shown in order to illustrate how the invention works.
The ramps themselves are sturdy and made of lightweight aluminum. They hook into a metal bar that is bolted to the lip of the truck’s tailgate, preventing them from moving in any direction.
The system can also accommodate the snowmobile ramps that the office uses.
Guillaume Godbout, the manager of the Mansfield MFFP office, explained that Baulne looked after all the equipment and vehicles for the shop, from trucks to snowmobiles. He was proud to see his former colleague recognized for his labour.
“It was a way to honour Jean-François,” he said. “He worked hard for it.”
Godbout and his colleagues applied for the award last spring. He added that the system has been installed on the trucks at the Mansfield office for some time, but they are looking at introducing it to other locations.
Taillefer said she was happy to receive the award and spoke fondly about her husband’s personality.
“He was very creative and very into safety,” she said. “He was an ingenious man.”
She explained that he had worked on different versions of the ramp system for many years, collaborating with the workers at Magnalum Welding and Fabrication in Shawville.
“Jean-François really liked them,” she said. “He was a detail guy.”
Forester François Couture worked with Baulne for many years and said that he got input from many people in the office for his designs. The old ramps, he said, were heavy and would slide around when not secured properly.
Couture added that the system is a big improvement as far as workplace safety, and that it catches the eye of other forestry workers and ATV enthusiasts.
In addition to winning the innovation award for the Outaouais region, the system is entered in the province-wide competition, which will be held in Quebec City in May.