Occupational Hygiene

Enforcement of Health & Safety Regulations in Ontario

Employers’ claiming they are unaware of health & safety violations is unacceptable.  It is the responsibility of the company to show their due diligence with regards to health and safety issues.  Due diligence is a common term that when used in the context of occupational health & safety refers to taking all reasonable precautions, under the particular circumstances, to prevent worker illness, injuries or accidents.  In order to exercise due diligence, an employer must implement a plan to identify potential workplace hazards and carry out the appropriate corrective action to prevent these hazards from causing injuries or illness.  Elements of a due diligence program include (but are not limited to) written Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) policies, practices and procedures, training and education for workers and supervisors, and documentation of items such as workplace monitoring, training and accident investigations.

Ministry of Labour (MOL) inspectors and hygienists enforce regulations made under the OHSA and have the authority to inspect any workplace that falls under their jurisdiction. If the MOL believes a workplace is out of compliance with the regulations they can write orders to the employer to take the necessary steps to come into compliance.  If these orders are not followed through by the employer, fines can be issued and individuals can be convicted.  Under the OHSA, an individual found guilty of a contravention may be fined up to a maximum of $25,000.00 and/or sentenced up to one year in jail per offence.  The fine for a corporation can be up to $500,000.00.  By performing your due diligence, potentially unsafe working conditions and regulatory infractions can be determined and corrected and Ministry of Labour orders and/or costly fines. 

As of March 2004, the introduction of Bill C-45 has made corporations even more aware of their occupational health and safety responsibilities.  Bill C-45 is an act to amend the Criminal Code affecting the criminal liability of organizations.  It creates a new offence of “Occupational Health & Safety Criminal Negligence” and indicates that organizations (including directors, executive officers, and managers, etc.) can be held responsible and prosecuted if their health and safety responsibilities are recklessly or willfully disregarded.  Unlike fines under OHSA, fines under the Criminal Code have no predetermined limit and the maximum sentence for an individual convicted of “criminal negligence causing death” is life imprisonment.

With such wide-ranging regulations and far-reaching fines and convictions, employers must take their responsibility for health & safety seriously and perform their due diligence.  It is not enough for employers to assume they are in compliance.  Ensuring that your workplace is a safe and healthy work environment just makes good sense, from a relationship perspective with workers as well as economically.