BILL 160 (what are you?)
30. The short title of this Act is the Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Explanatory
Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 160 and does not form part of
the law. Bill 160 has been enacted as Chapter 11 of the Statutes of
Ontario, 2011.
The Bill amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act
Section 4.1,
which specifies the Minister’s responsibility for the administration of
the Act and sets out some of the Minister’s powers and duties in
administering the Act, is added to Part II of the Act.
The Act is
amended to allow the Chief Prevention Officer, appointed under Part II.1
of the Act, to establish standards for training programs and to approve
programs that meet the standards.
The Chief Prevention Officer may
also establish standards that a person must meet in order to become an
approved training provider and may approve a person who meets the
standards as a training provider with respect to one or more approved
training programs and may collect information about workers’ successful
completion of approved training programs for the purpose of maintaining a
record.
Section 7.6,
which allows the Chief Prevention Officer to establish training and
other requirements that a member of a joint health and safety committee
must fulfil in order to become a certified member, is added to the Act.
The Chief Prevention Officer may certify a committee member who meets
the requirements.
Section 7.7
permits the Chief Prevention Officer to delegate certain powers and duties under sections 7.1 to 7.6 to an employee in the Ministry of Labour.
Section 8 of the
Act is amended to require a constructor or employer to ensure that
health and safety representatives receive training to enable them to
effectively exercise the powers and perform the duties of a
representative.
Section 9 of the
Act is amended to allow either 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.
The Bill adds
Part II.1 (Prevention Council, Chief Prevention Officer and Designated
Entities) to the Act.
Section 22.2 of the Act requires the Minister to
establish a Prevention Council responsible for providing advice to the
Minister on the appointment of a Chief Prevention Officer and providing
advice to the Chief Prevention Officer on occupational health and safety
matters.
Section 22.3 requires the Minister to appoint a Chief
Prevention Officer responsible for developing a provincial occupational
health and safety strategy, preparing an annual report on occupational
health and safety and advising the Minister on occupational health and
safety matters.
Section 22.4 requires that the
advice of the Chief Prevention Officer and the position of the
Prevention Council be obtained in respect of a proposed change to the
funding and delivery of services for the
prevention of workplace injuries and occupational diseases if the
proposed change would be significant.
Sections 22.5 to 22.9
allow the Minister to designate an entity as a safe workplace
association or as a medical clinic or training centre specializing in
occupational health and safety matters if the entity meets the standards
established by the Minister. A designated entity must operate in
accordance with the standards and with any other requirements imposed on
it, and is eligible for a grant from the Ministry.
Part III.1 of
the Act is amended to allow the Minister to approve codes of practice
with respect to both statutory and regulatory requirements and specify
that compliance with the code is deemed to be compliance with the
requirement, subject to any terms or conditions set out by the Minister
in the approval.
Section 50 of
the Act is amended to allow an inspector to refer a matter to the Board
where a worker alleges that his or her employer has violated the
prohibition against reprisals and where circumstances warrant. The
matter cannot have been dealt with by final and binding settlement by
arbitration under a collective agreement or by the worker filing a
complaint with the Board and the worker must consent to the referral.
Section 50.1,
which gives the Office of the Worker Adviser and the Office of the
Employer Adviser prescribed functions for the purposes of Part VI of the
Act, is added to the Act.
Section 63 of
the Act is amended so that persons employed in the Office of the Worker
Adviser or the Office of the Employer Adviser are not compellable
witnesses in a civil suit or any proceeding respecting any information
or material furnished to or obtained, made or received by them under the
Act while acting within the scope of their employment.
Subsection 70 (2) of the Act is amended to add complementary regulation-making authority.
Provisions
relating to the load bearing capacity of structures are updated to
remove references to an engineering design method that is no longer
current.
Other complementary and transitional amendments are made to the Act.
Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997
Part II (Injury
and Disease Prevention) of the Act is repealed.
The substance of
subsection 4 (2) and section 10 of that Part (dealing with payments to
constructions workers and first aid requirements that may be set by the
Board) is re-enacted elsewhere in the Act.
Section 159 is
amended to exempt information sharing agreements between the Board and
the Ministry of Labour from the requirement that the agreement be
approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Transition from WSIB to Ministry of Labour
Bill 160 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act provided for the transfer of several WSIB functions, including the Research Advisory Council, from the WSIB to the Ministry of Labour (MoL). The transition of the research program from the WSIB to the MOL is under way, and the Ministry continues to build capacity. Once the Ministry’s Prevention Council is in place, the Chief Prevention Officer will initiate a review of research priorities.In the meantime, the WSIB is working closely with the MoL on key transition issues, including the management of the Bridging the Gap competition. The 2012-13 Bridging the Gap application process will follow much the same cycle as in previous years. The key difference is that the authority for final approval of proposals no longer rests with the WSIB Board of Directors, but with the Chief Prevention Officer.
