On June 8, 2013, the federal government published proposed Policy Committees, Work Place Committees and Health and Safety Representatives Regulations (“Regulations”) made under the Canada Labour Code (“Code”). The proposed Regulations would replace the Safety and Health Committees and Representatives Regulations (“SHCRR”) to align the Regulations with amendments made to the Code in 2000, which…
Practice Area: Occupational Health
Federal Health and Safety Tribunal Considers Fukushima Nuclear Incident in Context of Canadian Work Refusal
An Appeals Officer of the Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal Canada recently considered the damage caused to the Fukushima nuclear facility by the 2011 Japanese tsunami in the context of a work refusal under the Canada Labour Code. The appellant was a mail sorter with Canada Border Services Agency. Shortly after the Fukushima incident in…
Federal Appeals Officer Confirms Work Refusal Must Be Based on More Than “Hypothesis or Conjecture”
The Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal Canada has found that there was insufficient evidence of radiation contamination on parcels arriving from Japan after the Fukushima nuclear incident in 2011 to warrant a work refusal at a mail sorting facility. For a reasonable expectation of danger to exist, there must be more than hypothesis or conjecture….
Arbitrator Finds Video Surveillance Reasonable in Light of Safety Issues in the Workplace
A recent arbitration award has confirmed that where an employer has legitimate concerns regarding safety in the workplace, it may install and operate video surveillance. This decision, which involved surveillance in a fire station to ensure equipment was not tampered with, engaged privacy considerations, the reasonableness of such surveillance and whether the surveillance was conducted…
Employers Must Investigate Work Refusals
A recent decision under the Occupational Health and Safety Act is a stark reminder to all employers to take any work refusal, no matter how small, seriously. The Ontario Labour Relations Board concluded that an employer failed in its obligations under the OHSA when it terminated an employee, after he refused to drive his faulty…
Parts of Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 to Come into Force April 8, 2013
On April 8, 2013, parts of the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (“OCTAA”) will be proclaimed into force. Among other things, OCTAA creates the Ontario College of Trades (“College”). Effective April 8, 2013, OCTAA will repeal the Apprenticeship and Certification Act, 1998 and the Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act, thereby transferring most…
Termination of Employee Following Work Refusal Results in Finding of Reprisal
The Ontario Labour Relations Board has found an employer violated the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) when it immediately terminated an employee instead of taking any steps whatsoever to investigate a work refusal. The employee was a probationary truck driver who had worked with the employer for three months. He felt that the truck…
Ontario Launches Consultation on Development of Occupational Health and Safety Strategy
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has launched a consultation process further to the development of its first province-wide integrated occupational health and safety strategy. It has issued a consultation paper, “An Integrated Occupational Health and Safety Strategy for Ontario”, for review and comment by stakeholders. Feedback is invited on issues such as: addressing the needs…
OHSA Regulations Amended to Ensure Compliance with Ontario Colleges of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009
On March 1, 2013, a number of amendments to regulations made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act were filed to bring those regulations into compliance with the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (“Act”). The Act will be proclaimed in force, in part, on April 8, 2013. On that date, section 103…
Court of Appeal for Ontario Clarifies Obligation to Report Injuries to Non-Workers
The recent Blue Mountain Resorts decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario has clarified the circumstances in which employers are required to report a critical injury or fatality suffered by a non-worker under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”). This FTR Now reviews the decision and its implications for employers. BACKGROUND On December…