Introduction

Introduction

In March 2020, the world faced a public health crisis with the arrival of the novel coronavirus (COVID‑19) and the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). It was essential for the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (‘the ministry’) to respond swiftly. This infectious disease would quickly have a huge impact on our workplaces. It soon became clear that we could not do this alone.

The ministry worked across the occupational health and safety (OHS) system to help Ontario workers, businesses and communities navigate through the challenges. We also worked with a broad set of external stakeholders and partners, including the Ministry of Health and Public Health Ontario on education and outreach as well as compliance assistance and enforcement initiatives related to the new COVID‑19 requirements. In addition to creating hundreds of resources for workplaces, over 60% of the ministry’s 72,473^{footnote 1[1]} OHS inspections in 2020-21 were COVID‑19 related. The Spotlight section reports in more detail on how the ministry and its partners responded to COVID‑19.

While COVID‑19 has been a top priority, the ministry has also continued to work towards improving the OHS system as a whole. Although Ontario has had the lowest frequency of lost-time claims in Canada since 2009^{footnote 2[2]}, there is still work to be done. In 2020:

• There were 65 deaths from traumatic injuries at work according to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. The sectors with the most traumatic fatalities were construction (31%), transportation and warehousing (15%) and manufacturing (11%).
• There were 259 occupational disease fatalities by entitlement year.
• Workplaces under Schedule 1 (employers that must contribute to the WSIB insurance fund) had 48,429 allowed lost-time injury claims (1.07 per 100 workers)^{footnote 2[2]} and 83,449 allowed no lost-time injury claims (1.84 per 100 workers)^{footnote 2[2]} . The sectors with the most allowed lost-time claims are non-hospital healthcare and social assistance (22%), manufacturing (17%) and retail (11%).
• In “COVID‑19 has made up 44% of allowed occupational disease claims while having the highest benefit costs.”^{footnote 3[3]}

Throughout the 2020-21 fiscal year, the ministry prepared to release the province’s 2021-2026 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Strategy, called Prevention Works. Prevention Works, released in July 2021, provides a five-year framework for Ontario’s OHS system. Our goal: to help ensure that Ontario remains one of the safest and healthiest jurisdictions to work in Canada. Through Prevention Works, the OHS system will be moving towards an evidence-informed, risk-based model. Under this model, we will focus on prevention initiatives that are customer- and outcomes-focused, with measurable results for continuous improvement.

In addition to highlighting the OHS system’s response to COVID‑19, this 2020–2021 annual report serves as a transitional report that focuses on programs or projects the OHS system has delivered that align with the objectives and areas of systems focus of Prevention Works. It also demonstrates how these activities support the Minister’s key priorities:

• Strengthening system oversight
• Promoting secure workplaces and labour mobility
• Supporting small businesses and customer service excellence.