Canadian Safety Laws

Canadian Safety Laws and regulations are significantly different in how they are interpreted, applied and enforced.

There are essentially multiple components in Canadian Safety Laws and regulations that make it different.

Provincial Laws

Canadian Safety laws are mandated and enacted provincially.  All federally controlled organizations and transportation organizations come under Federal laws but must also follow applicable provincial laws.

Each Province has a minimum standard for regulations, which can be different in every province.  The Provincial Occupational Health & Safety Act and it’s regulations are enforced by the Ministry of Labour for each province.  The Ministry of Labour inspectors can issue work orders, stop projects, and have numerous powers when a site is not in compliance.

Certain provinces follow the same standards for equipment and work processes, however, all provinces have different rules when it comes to safety related processes such as: accident reporting, handling emergencies, workplace inspections, Joint Committees, etc.

In certain areas one law in one province, at times can completely violate the law in another province.

Workers Compensation Board (WCB)

All employees working at a site are required to have the Provincial workers compensation insurance, based on the rate groups for the organization.  The advent of the Workers compensation removed the right of an employee to sue the company for work related injuries.  However, each WCB has its own set of standards, fines, surcharges, rebates as well as processes for handling claims.  Most Provinces also send inspectors to sites to assess their safety programs based on rigorous internal standards that assess an Organization’s Safety documents, safety records, training, etc.  The objective is to ensure the company is doing all it needs to do to protect its employees.  Workers compensation boards work with the Ministry of Labour to ensure an organization is doing what it can to protect their employees.

Criminal Law

Canada is one of the few countries in world where executives, managers, and employees can be held criminally responsible for employee safety.  The new law Bill-C45 amended the criminal code and came into effect in 2003.  Bill-C45 also focuses on directing minds of the Corporation (decision makers such as employees, managers and executives) on lapses when it comes to Employee Safety. Bill-C45 essentially changed how safety programs are implemented, developed, and monitored.

Standards

Canadian organizations are required to follow the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards in areas where applicable.  The CSA sometimes mirror their American counterparts but are also ahead of the American standard depending on when a revision takes place.  CSA standards are referred to in most of the provincial regulations and are generally written for all industries.

Utility and Infrastructure Standards Groups

Most CSA standards do not apply to particular industries and Utilities.  Utilities such as Power Generators, Electrical Transmission & Distribution, Gas, etc must follow Provincial safety rules and guidelines provided by their Utility Standards Organization.  The utility standards organization will determine certain details in work procedures, equipment used, employee training, and employee certification to carry out various tasks in its jurisdiction.

The standards followed by the Utilities are referred to in the regulations for that industry.

In addition, certain Generators, Transmission Owners and other electrical utilities will have their own guidelines that need to be factored into the safety program.