Human Resources Legislative Update
Occupational Health and Safety Legislation Introduced
Date: March 4, 2011
On March 3, 2011, the Ontario government introduced Bill 160, the Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011 (PDF).
The proposed Bill 160 amendments, which are intended to respond to the recommendations provided by the Expert Panel on Occupational Health and Safety, would significantly amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), by:
- empowering the Minister of Labour (the “Minister”) to establish standards for training programs and training providers, and collect information and maintain records of workers’ successful completion of approved training programs;
- empowering the Minister to establish training and certification standards for members of joint health and safety committees;
- requiring constructors or employers to provide health and safety representatives with training;
- enabling the co-chair of a joint health and safety committee to make written recommendations to a constructor or employer if the committee fails to reach consensus; and
- authorizing a Director designated under section 6 to establish policies respecting the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the OHSA, and to require an inspector to follow such policies.
