In 2010 an expert advisory panel under a former Deputy Minister of Labour, Tony Dean, was assembled to review the occupational health and safety system and make recommendations for reform. This resulted in the largest overhaul of Ontario’s occupational health and safety system in 30 years. As part of the transformation of the system, a Chief Prevention Officer was appointed, and the ministry developed a five-year provincial Health and Safety Strategy to guide and align prevention work in Ontario. The strategy targeted the areas of greatest need and enhanced service delivery. The strategy is put into action through specific plans and initiatives from partners in Ontario’s health and safety system.

A focus of the 2013 Occupational Health and Safety Strategy was to develop an integrated system to support healthy and safe workplaces. Ontario’s occupational health and safety system consists of key partners, known as the system partners, as well as a broader network of partners. The system partners work together with the broader network to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities across Ontario workplaces. These put into action the goals of the Occupational Health and Safety System Strategy through specific plans and initiatives.

The health and safety system partners

Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development

Since its establishment in 1919 as the Department of Labour, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development has served the people of Ontario to protect workers and improve workplace conditions across the province.

Initially, the Department of Labour focused mainly on the minimum wage and basic workplace safety. Inspectors visited workplaces and responded to complaints from workers and unions. A hundred years later, the ministry is now composed of different branches that play unique roles in supporting health and safety, employment standards, and labour relations.

As a modern regulator, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development understands that a compliance-focused approach that is risk-based can help achieve our shared desired outcome: a safe, healthy and prosperous Ontario.

Prevention

The Prevention Office, under the leadership of the Chief Prevention Officer, oversees and coordinates the health and safety system, making sure the system partners work together to reach common goals, get the most value for money and avoid duplication. The office creates and leads a provincial health and safety strategy to focus on the top workplace risks, manages transfer payments to system partners, and develops training and safety standards. It also identifies new partnerships and works with system partners, businesses and worker groups to reduce injury and illness through diverse and innovative approaches.

Operations

The Operations Division is the largest division in the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. Its role is to communicate and enforce fair employment practices and occupational health and safety standards in Ontario workplaces. Through its Safe At Work Ontario (SAWO) program, the Operations Division uses a risk-based approach to direct health and safety compliance and awareness efforts on the areas of greatest need.

Working across the five regions of the province, the Operations Division provides educational outreach, compliance assistance, and risk-based inspections. This approach strives to minimize burden on businesses, while keeping workplaces fair and safe.

Policy

The Occupational Health and Safety Policy Branch supports the minister by developing laws and regulations on occupational health and safety and workplace insurance. The branch provides advice and conducts and coordinates research in these fields. It promotes links between injury and illness prevention and workplace insurance by working with other branches in the ministry, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and other system partners.

Information on regulatory amendments in 2018-2019 can be found in the appendix.

Data management

The Data Management Branch helps the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to use evidence to inform its decisions and improve outcomes. They do this by providing the ministry with data, analysis and visual representations of data. They also help ministry branches to develop strategies to measure and evaluate the impact of their programs. The branch helps the ministry to:

  • make needed improvements based on data
  • ensure that it is using the best measures to track performance
  • increase openness and accountability by providing a solid evidence base for government decisions

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is an independent agency of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and is entirely funded by Ontario businesses. WSIB is one of the largest insurance organizations in North America covering over five million people in more than 300,000 workplaces across Ontario.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board provides wage-loss benefits, medical coverage and support to help people get back to work. They provide no-fault collective liability insurance and access to industry-specific health and safety information. The WSIB also provides funding to the health and safety system, including ministry work on health and safety, and the delivery of services by Health and Safety Associations.

Health and Safety Associations

Using the funding provided by WSIB, the ministry funds six Health and Safety Associations (HSAs), commonly referred to as HSAs. Each HSA is an independent not-for-profit corporation, governed by a board of directors. As occupational health and safety partners, they deliver front-line prevention programs for the ministry, providing services and information directly to employers, workers, joint health and safety committees, medical practitioners, unions and others. HSA services range from delivering training and creating tools that can be used in workplaces, to consultation and clinical services. They also support industry-specific programs like mine rescue training.

The Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) provides occupational disease information and clinical services, including medical diagnostic services. The Workers Health and Safety Centre (WHSC), Ontario’s designated health and safety training centre, provides training for workers, supervisors, health and safety representatives, joint health and safety committees and employers from every sector and region of the province.

Four of the HSAs cover key occupational sectors in Ontario. They are:

Research centres

The ministry’s research partners are vital to the occupational health and safety system. Five research centres create and share occupational health and safety knowledge, and support how that information can be applied. Scientists at the centres share knowledge to find solutions to existing and emerging health and safety issues, inform policy makers and help identify the results of initiatives undertaken by the system. The centres help strengthen Ontario’s knowledge base by providing opportunities foremerging scientists in the field. Their research is often internationally recognized.

The broader health and safety network

Advisory groups

Prevention Council

The Prevention Council is a committee established by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) that gives advice to the Minister of Labour and Chief Prevention Officer on health and safety issues. The Prevention Council includes representatives from trade unions and provincial labour organizations, employers, non-unionized workers and the WSIB, and experts in occupational health and safety.

Section 21 Committees

Section 21 Committees are formed by the Minister of Labour under section 21 of the OHSA to give sector-specific advice to the minister on health and safety issues. Many of the committees also produce guidance materials to help the sector to comply with legislation, clarify the sector’s legislative responsibilities, and exchange information and advice on emerging issues.

To ensure that the needs of both workers and employers are met, all Section 21 Committees must have equal representation from labour and management.

Currently, there are seven Section 21 Committees and one Subcommittee:

  • Provincial Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee — Construction
  • Provincial Labour-Management Safety Committee — Electrical & Utilities
  • Mining Legislative Review Committee
  • Ontario Police Health and Safety Advisory Committee
  • Film and Television Section 21 Advisory Committee
  • Fire Service Section 21 Advisory Committee
  • Health Care Section 21 Advisory Committee
    • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Section 21 Sub-Committee

Other advisory committees

The ministry also participates in other provincial advisory committees, which were not created by an order from the minister under section 21 of the OHSA. They include:

  • Technical Advisory Committee – Farming Sector
  • Live Performance Advisory Committee
  • Petrochem Forum Steering Committee

Office of the Employer Adviser and Office of the Worker Adviser

The Office of the Employer Adviser (OEA) and Office of the Worker Adviser (OWA) are independent agencies of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. The OEA works with employers, while the OWA works with non-union workers. Each provides their clients with free and confidential advice, representation and education on all workplace insurance issues and on occupational health and safety reprisal issues.

Approved training providers

Training is central to improving worker health and safety. In Ontario, training providers who wish to teach Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certification programs or Working at Heights training programs must have their programs approved by the Chief Prevention Officer (CPO). This is so that everyone who has been trained receives the same level of information.

As of March 31, 2019, there are 210 approved providers delivering Working at Heights training and 52 training providers have been approved by the CPO to conduct JHSC Certification training (either Part 1, Part 2, or Refresher).

Visit the ministry’s website to apply for CPO approval to conduct Working at Heights training or JHSC Training.

Other partners

In addition to its official partners, the ministry works with and gets advice from a wide variety of organizations and individuals through ongoing and project-specific groups. This includes working with other ministries, non-governmental organizations, private-sector organizations and members of the public. These partnerships and the collaborative work that comes out of them help to identify issues and direct prevention efforts throughout the system.

To continue to improve health and safety, the ministry is always looking to partner with new groups and organizations that have shown their commitment to health and safety excellence. There is a role in the system for everyone who has a stake or interest in improving health and safety in Ontario’s workplaces.