Week 2 - Chapter 2 - Online class instruction

1) Read all of chapter 2

2) Continue to read through this power point
3) Complete and submit exercises listed below
by 10 a.m. on January 25. Be prepared to
present/discuss the during next class.
- Discussion Question # 3
- Case Study # 1

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 Chapter 2

Legislative Framework

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 Learning Objectives
• After reading this chapter, you should be
able to:
– articulate the three health and safety rights granted
to workers in Canada
– describe the regulatory framework surrounding
OH&S
– outline the duties of the major stakeholders under
OH&S legislation
– discuss the nature of and limits placed on work
refusals and work stoppages
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 Learning Objectives
• After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
– describe the structure and role of joint health and
safety committees
– discuss WHMIS 2015 as it applies to the right to know
about chemical hazards in the workplace
– explain how OH&S fits into the Criminal Code
– express how environmental and transportation of
dangerous goods legislation interacts with OH&S
concerns

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 OH&S Key Terms
• Act
– Federal, provincial, or territorial law that constitutes basic regulatory
mechanism for occupational health and safety
• Regulations
– Explain how general intent of the act will be applied in specific
circumstances
• Guidelines and Policies
– More specific rules that are not legally enforceable unless referred to
in a regulation or act
• Standards and Codes
– Provide practical guidance on the implementation of OH&S practices;
often established by agencies such as the CSA or ILO

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 The Scope of OH&S Legislation
• All OH&S legislation includes the following
elements:
– An act
– Powers of enforcement
– Workers’ right to refuse unsafe work
– Protection of workers from reprisals
– Duties and responsibilities assigned to employers
and others

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Occupational
Health and
Safety
Legislation in
Canada

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 OH&S Acts
• Set the minimum requirements of OH&S within each
jurisdiction
• Set boundaries for its application, noting any
exclusions
• Outline mandatory components of OH&S
programming within its jurisdiction
• Articulate duties for major stakeholders

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 Stakeholder Duties and Responsibilities:
Employers
• General Duty Provision
– Primary duty directly articulated in the OH&S Act
– OH&S acts across Canada have the general duty
provision requiring employers to take every
reasonable precaution to ensure employee safety
• Prescribed Duty:
– A particular duty to be undertaken because of
health and safety regulation

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 Stakeholder Duties and Responsibilities:
Employers
• General employer duties:
– Take every reasonable precaution to ensure employee safety
– Appoint a competent supervisor
– Provide information in a medical emergency
– Inform supervisors and workers of possible hazards
– Post the OH&S act in the workplace
– Prepare and maintain health and safety policy and review
annually (see OH&S Today 2.2)
– Prepare policies regarding workplace violence and
workplace harassment

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 Stakeholder Duties and Responsibilities:
Contractors
• Constructor (or primary contractor)
– Oversees the construction of a project and is
ultimately responsible for the health and safety of
all involved workers
• Similar responsibilities to those outlined for
employers

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 Stakeholder Duties and Responsibilities:
Supervisors
• Supervisor
– Anyone who has charge of a workplace and authority
over a worker
• An OH&S Act may include a general duty provision
for supervisors to ensure the health and safety of
workers under their supervision
• Prescribed duties include:
– Ensuring workers comply with OH&S regulations,
ensuring workers use or wear safety equipment, devices,
or clothing, and advising workers of possible hazards
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 Stakeholder Duties and Responsibilities:
Workers
• Workers’ duties include:
– Take reasonable precautions to ensure their own
and others’ safety
– Comply with OH&S Act, regulations, and policies
– Properly use safety equipment provided
– Report hazards, such as defective equipment, to a
supervisor
– Report any contraventions of the act or
regulations

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 Joint Health and Safety Committees
• Required by law in most jurisdictions
– Where not required there are special provisions for committees to be created
• Help enact the internal responsibility system
• Provide nonadversarial atmosphere in which labour and management
can work to create a healthier workplace
• OH&S acts regulate the formation, composition, training, and
certification requirements for the JHSC
• Duties of the JHSC:
– Hazard recognition, risk assessments, record keeping, and responding to
employee concerns

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 Joint Health and Safety Committees
JHSC Requirements Across Canadian Jurisdictions
Regulatory Requirement Jurisdictions Included
20 or more employees Federal, British Columbia*, Manitoba, Ontario*,
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward
Island, Yukon, Northwest Territories/Nunavut

10 or more employees Newfoundland, Saskatchewan

Workers can request a JHSC with written notice Quebec
(more than 20 employees)

At the Responsible Minister’s Request Alberta

*Special Provision to request JHSC for employers with a smaller number of employees

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 Work Refusals
• Every jurisdiction provides workers the
right to refuse unsafe work without
fear of reprisal
• Can refuse work tasks if they have
reasonable cause to believe the action
would bring harm to themselves or to
others
• Workers should follow established
procedures to report a work refusal

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 Work Refusals
• Limits
– Essentially, a worker does not have right to refuse
unsafe work if:
• That work is normal condition of employment
• The refusal places another person’s life in jeopardy
– Some jurisdictions specify certain professions in its
legislation on limited rights to refuse
• For example, Ontario legislation specifically identifies
professions including police officers, fire fighters, and
health care workers

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 Stop-Work Provisions
• Some jurisdictions have provisions to stop work in
dangerous circumstances
• Dangerous circumstances, for example Ontario
legislation, is described as follows:
– A provision of the act or the regulation is being
contravened
– The contravention presents a danger or hazard to a
worker
– The danger or hazard is such that any delay in
controlling it may seriously endanger a worker
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Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS)
• The 1988 WHMIS legislation promoted
workers’ right to know about chemical hazards
in the workplace using:
– Labels to alert the worker that a container
contains a potentially hazardous product
– Material safety data sheets outlining a product’s
potentially hazardous ingredient(s) and safe
handling procedures, and
– Employee training

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Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS)
• Recent substantial changes to the WHMIS legislation
• WHMIS 2015 incorporates elements of the Globally Harmonized
System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)
– GHS system elements reflected in WHMIS 2015 ease global trade and
business interaction
• Some of the changes involve the introduction of new classes of
chemicals and new requirements for labels and Safety Data
Sheets
• Canadian jurisdictions will transition to the new system over
several years leading up to 2018

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Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS)

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 Corporate Liability for OH&S
under the Criminal Code
• Bill C-45, sometimes called the Westray legislation, was
passed in 2003 and became law in 2004
• Named after the Westray mine tragedy
– Mine explosion that killed 26 miners was attributed to
corporate negligence
• This legislation added sections to the Criminal Code of
Canada that make company executives more
accountable when workers are killed or injured on the
job as a result of management negligence
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Corporate Liability for OH&S
under the Criminal Code

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 Corporate Liability for OH&S
under the Criminal Code
• This legislation makes a company responsible for:
– The actions of those who oversee day-to-day
operations (e.g., supervisors and mid-level managers)
– Managers (executive or operational) who
intentionally commit, or have employees commit,
crimes to benefit the organization
– Managers who do not take action when they become
aware of offences being committed
– The actions of managers who demonstrate a criminal
lack of care (i.e., criminal negligence)
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 Corporate Liability for OH&S
under the Criminal Code
• Section 217.1: Those in authority for workers
have a responsibility to take reasonable steps
to protect those workers from harm
• Sections 22.1 and 22.2: Corporations can be
criminally liable for negligence and other
offences
• There have been several convictions, including
large fines and prison sentences, under this law
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 Environmental Legislation
• Environmental, OH&S, and transportation of dangerous goods
laws are intertwined
– Practitioners of OH&S need to be familiar with other legislation that has
implications of health and safety
• Consider the following example:
– If a release of a hazardous substance occurs within a non-residential
building it falls under the jurisdiction of the authority enforcing the
health and safety legislation, but if the release is outside of a building it
falls under the jurisdiction of the authority enforcing the environmental
legislation
– Both authorities and sets of legislation may apply

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Environmental Legislation

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 Transportation of Dangerous Goods
• Regulation of environmental hazards, occupational health and safety,
and transportation of dangerous goods is not the exclusive domain of
the federal, provincial, or territorial governments
• OH&S professionals should be familiar with the statutes relevant to their
particular jurisdiction
• Environmental and transportation legislation seeks to supply the
framework within which society can protect itself from the risk that
attends the transportation of inherently dangerous materials
• Federal legislation governing the transportation of dangerous goods
applies to all persons who handle, offer for transport, transport, or
import any dangerous goods

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 Video Links
• The following link introduces a Standard:
– Summary: National Standard for Psychological Health and
Safety in Canadian Workplaces, Mental Health Commissio
n of Canada
(3min, 21sec)

• The following link summarizes basic worker rights:

– Eye on Safety: Young Workers’ Rights, Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
(1min, 55sec)

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