Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Government Launches Safety Blitzes
Date: June 5, 2012
On June 1, 2012, the Ontario government launched a month-long safety blitz targeted at improving the safety of workers at road work and construction sites. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labour will ensure proper traffic control measures are in place when vehicles and large pieces of mobile equipment are on site.
Specifically, inspectors will check to ensure that:
- traffic protection plans are maintained on site and workers know how to carry out these plans;
- traffic control devices are in good condition and correctly placed;
- traffic control workers are properly trained and when directing traffic do not perform other work; and
- workers who may be endangered by vehicle traffic are wearing high visibility clothing.
In addition, on June 5, 2012, the Ontario government announced that it will take part in an annual blitz to inspect large trucks and buses on major highways in Ontario. From June 5 to 7, roadchecks on those highways will take place and inspectors will randomly check for:
- mechanical fitness;
- properly secured loads;
- correct driver qualifications; and
- complete daily inspection reports and logs.