The Ministry of Labour is proposing a new regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) that would enable the Office of the Worker Adviser (OWA) and the Office of the Employer Adviser (OEA) to provide support for workers and small business involved in reprisal complaints.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) is seeking input on the proposed changes to the occupational exposure limits (OELs) of nine hazardous chemical substances that are set out in Regulation 883 – Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents.

From May 1 to August 31, 2011, Ministry of Labour inspectors conducted a workplace inspection blitz focusing on new and young workers in the industrial and health care sectors to enforce compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations.

On October 4, Ontario’s Court of Appeal granted Blue Mountain Resorts Ltd. the right to appeal an earlier decision determining that all fatal and critical injuries occurring at a workplace – whether involving a worker or someone else – should be reported to the Ministry of Labour.

Two health care workers who contracted Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) are the latest victims of the bacterial infection since an outbreak began in three hospitals in the Niagara, Ontario region in recent months.

The Ministry of Labour has posted an open letter from Minister Charles Sousa to Mr. Paavo Kivisto, Chair of the Interim Prevention Council thanking him and the other members of the Interim Prevention Council (IPC) for the thoughtful advice they provided him and the government during the last few months with regard to passage of Bill 160...

The updated Guides are on the MOL website in both English and French, here.  

Please note: A new print edition of these guides, which will include recent changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act contained in Bill 160 (Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011 – Third Reading May 18, 2011), will be available in the spring of 2012.

As part of Safe At Work Ontario the Ministry of Labour (MOL) develops annual sector-specific enforcement plans that focus on hazards specific to workplaces in different sectors of the economy. The plans describe the specialized and professional services office of the MOL as well as the industrial, health care, construction and mining sectors and outline what inspectors will be looking for in each sector during an inspection. Click here to view the individual sector plans...

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), critical and fatal injuries must be reported to the provincial health and safety regulator, the Ministry of Labour. While this requirement is normally understood to necessitate reporting on injured workers, the divisional court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently upheld an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that injuries to non-workers must be reported to the Ministry of Labour in some cases.

Bill 160, Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011, was granted Royal Assent yesterday. The Bill amends both the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, allowing implementation of many of the key recommendations of the Expert Advisory Panel.

On May 31, 2011, Bill 181, the Fire Protection and Prevention Amendment Act, 2011 passed in the legislature.  This amendment will allow mandatory retirement at age 60 for Ontario’s salaried firefighters involved in frontline fire fighting.  Although most municipalities already include a mandatory retirement age for firefighters in their collective agreements, this reform will give other municipalities two years to negotiate a new retirement provision.  

Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) was saddened by the news that Grade 12 student, Eric Leighton was killed by an explosion in the automotive shop/tool room area at Mother Teresa Catholic High School, Ottawa on May 26. Several students and a teacher were also injured, suffering non-life threatening injuries. Our thoughts are with Eric's friends and family.