In Ontario (Labour) v. Flex-N-Gate Canada Company, the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that corrective action taken by an employer to merely comply with a safety order following a workplace accident was not a mitigating factor for sentencing purposes under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), and that fines for multiple OHSA breaches…
Practice Area: Occupational Health
Mere compliance with OHSA order not a mitigating sentencing factor, says Ontario Court of Appeal
Flex-N-Gate, an automobile parts manufacturer, was charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) after a worker badly injured her foot while unbundling 5200 bounds of metal sheets. At the time of the accident the injured worker was following company procedure. A Ministry of Labour (“MOL”) inspector investigated the accident and issued two orders…
Hicks Morley Named in 2014 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide
Hicks Morley is pleased to announce it has once again ranked as the leading law firm in the Labour Relations and Pensions category according to the 2014 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Practice groups included in this category are Employment Law, Labour Relations, Occupational Health & Safety, Pensions & Employee…
Expanded OLRB Power to Consider Bill 168 Workplace Harassment Reprisal Complaints
Based on two decisions rendered late last month, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB” or “Board”) has expanded the scope of the Board’s authority to consider complaints arising from the Bill 168 workplace harassment amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA” or “Act”). This moves away from the Board’s decision in Confortia v….
Federal Budget Bill Receives Royal Assent (C-4)
On December 12, 2013, Bill C-4, the Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 2, received Royal Assent. As previously reported, Bill C-4 is omnibus legislation implementing measures from the Economic Action Plan 2013 (the 2013 Budget), as well as certain previously announced tax measures. The Bill should be consulted for coming into force information. For a more detailed…
Ontario to Conduct Review of Health and Safety in Mining Sector
The Ontario government has announced that beginning in early 2014 the Chief Prevention Officer (Ministry of Labour) will be leading an advisory group in conducting a comprehensive health and safety review on a wide range of areas in the mining sector. Among other things, the review will include assessing existing health and safety regulations and…
Alberta Employer Fined in Calf-Roping Machine Fatality Case
As we previously reported, an Alberta company was found liable by the Alberta Court of Appeal for failing to ensure the safety of its employees in the operation of a faulty calf-roping machine, rented from a third party for use at a client event. One of the employees was fatally struck by that malfunctioning machine….
Significant ESA, WSIA, OHSA, LRA Amendments Proposed (Bill 146, Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act)
On December 4, 2013, the Ontario government introduced Bill 146, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, omnibus legislation that would, if passed, amend several key employment-related statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (“WSIA”), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), the Labour Relations Act,…
Ontario Imposes Mandatory Health and Safety Awareness Training
On November 14, 2013, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 297/13 Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training, a new regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) requiring employers to ensure workers and supervisors receive mandatory safety awareness training. In this FTR Now, we provide an overview of these new training obligations, and…
Mandatory OHSA Safety Awareness Training for Workers, Supervisors
On November 14, 2013, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 297/13 (Occupational Health and Safety Awareness Training) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, providing for mandatory occupational health and safety training for workers and supervisors, subject to certain exemptions. The regulation revokes O. Reg. 780/94 (Training Programs). Section 5 of the regulation (Certification Training),…