The case for action

Ontario has a strong occupational health and safety record and has made significant progress in improving workplace safety.^{footnote 2[2]} However, we can and must do better.

At the most fundamental level, society has a moral obligation to ensure proper conditions in workplaces to allow workers to return home unharmed. We also have a responsibility to help ensure all workers in the province are able to experience the benefits of a healthy and safe work environment, which extend into all aspects of their lives. Benefits of a healthy and safe work environment include the sense of wellbeing that comes from being physically and mentally healthy as well as the feeling of personal accomplishment that comes from a job well done.

As individuals we have a responsibility to ensure that those closest to Ontario workers have peace of mind in knowing their loved ones are properly protected each day. Even one death is too many. In 2012, there were 242 work-related fatalities in Ontario,^{footnote 3[3]} each of which was preventable. We must act to ensure families and friends avoid the emotional pain that comes from losing the ones they love.

Work-related fatalities don’t just cost us in terms of lives and personal loss. It is challenging to quantify the economic costs of workplace illnesses, injuries and fatalities but we know the benefit payments by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to compensate workers and their families was $2.67 billion in in 2012^{footnote 4[4]} for work-related injuries and illnesses in Ontario. This figure does not include costs that are more difficult to quantify such as reduced production, lower productivity and property damage. The Institute for Work and Health has estimated the total economic cost of occupational injuries in Canada was $17 billion in 2008.^{footnote 5[5]}

At the workplace level, there is a legal obligation to meet the health and safety requirements set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations. Employers face consequences if they do not meet these requirements or if they are responsible for an injury, illness or fatality. Consequences can include fines, re-training workers, higher insurance premiums, fixing damaged equipment, or even criminal charges.^{footnote 6[6]footnote 7[7]} The cost of these consequences can decrease profitability and affect an organization’s long-term sustainability. On the other hand, strong occupational health and safety performance can enhance a workplace’s financial sustainability and its public image.

Taking all these factors into account, all of us have a strong incentive to act to achieve our vision of healthy and safe workplaces for all Ontarians.

We want a province that has:

• healthy and safe workers
• open access to information and supports
• comprehensive services for workplace parties
• thorough measurement of the system’s performance
• clear results achieved through integrated service delivery