The COVID‑19 pandemic began to unfold quickly in early 2020. Enforcement staff on the frontlines and workplaces across the province needed accurate, current information. The ministry answered this call with a coordinated response that included education and outreach, compliance assistance, and enforcement.

The following examples highlight the responses delivered by key partners working together.

Education and outreach

Foundational and sector-specific COVID‑19 workplace guidance

The newly created Pandemic Workplace Safety Branch (PWSB) developed a simple, flexible, risk-focused approach to help employers develop a COVID‑19 workplace safety plan using public health and workplace guidance and resources. Working with the OHS system, over 200 best practice and guidance resources were created. Together, they also produced sector-specific resources for over 30 sectors. These resources were available through a single-window webpage to enhance customer service during the pandemic. As of March 31, 2021, these supports had received almost 1.3 million views.

Working together has been key throughout the COVID‑19 pandemic. PWSB continues to provide OHS support with an integrated public health approach to Ontario workplaces. PWSB also acts as a key support and advisory resource to the ministry and government more broadly.

In addition to providing regular advice to the CPO and Minister, the Prevention Council, which normally meets quarterly, began to meet on a bi-weekly basis to provide expert OHS advice to the ministry in developing COVID‑19 guidance for workplaces. The council also provided the ministry with recommendations and advice on COVID‑19 related protocols such as contact tracing and point-of-care testing, in workplaces.

Workplace COVID‑19 Safety Survey

MLTSD worked collaboratively with the Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) to design a survey to provide insights on workers’ understanding, attitudes, and beliefs on COVID‑19 safety. The survey consisted of 60 questions. A total of 1,359 workers across key sectors of interest (agriculture, construction, corrections, food processing, food sales, healthcare, restaurants, manufacturing, personal care services and retail) responded. The survey aimed to gain insights on workers’ attitudes, beliefs and understanding of workplace messaging (posters), mask use and COVID‑19 safety behaviours.

The Survey Findings were analyzed by the BIU and a detailed final report was prepared. The findings were shared with the Health and Safety Associations, Prevention Council and industry associations to inform and improve their approach to COVID‑19 safety education and outreach.

The findings can be summarized as follows:

  1. Social context in the workplace drives behaviour:
    • Beliefs about social norms were the best predictor of mask-wearing behaviour.
    • Respondents reported that they comply with guidelines to protect their colleagues and family members.
  2. Behaviourally-informed posters were more memorable, impactful, and easier to understand.
  3. People underestimate the COVID‑19 risk associated with activities such as sharing vehicles and during meal and break periods, when people are unmasked.
  4. COVID‑19-related concerns vary across groups. Different ages and sectors report different level of perceived risk / impact from COVID‑19 and could be targeted differently as a result.

New Infection Prevention and Control training

The COVID‑19 pandemic has highlighted the need for Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) training throughout all Ontario workplace sectors. As a result, the ministry, in partnership with Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA), developed the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) at Work: Basic Awareness Training module.

This program launched on January 27, 2021. As of March 31, 2021, there were almost 14,000 views on PSHSA’s website. More than 3,400 individuals had registered for the course. Topics include:

  • what IPAC is and why it is important
  • how infections spread
  • the steps workers and employers can take to prevent and control the spread of infections.

CPO extension of Working at Heights (WAH) training and JHSC certification

COVID‑19 presented many challenges for both employers and employees. In response, extensions to validity periods were provided for:

  • Working at Heights (WAH) training
  • Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certification.

The extension applied to workers already trained or certified and who were due to complete their refresher training between February 28 and August 31, 2020. The ministry notified approximately 130,000 WAH learners and 7,000 JHSC certification learners of the new validity period so they could complete their refresher training. As of March 31, 2021, CPO-approved training providers have trained over 1,020,000 workers on working at heights for the construction sector. In the 2020–2021 fiscal year, over 117,000 workers completed working at heights training or joint health and safety refresher training.

Calls to the ministry increased six-fold in the first four months of 2021. More than 70% of calls related to WAH and 25% related to JHSC training. The ministry continues to provide client services amid significantly increased call volumes for OHS requirements.

Supporting the Provincial Antigen Screening Program (PASP)

The ministry also supported the launch of the Provincial Antigen Screening Program (PASP). The ministry brought together the Ministry of Health and employers to run a pilot program in December 2020. Participants included EllisDon and Crosslinx, and the Central Ontario Building and Construction Trades Council.

The government expanded the program in January 2021 to all essential businesses, including construction. The Pandemic Workers Safety Branch continues to support the program.

Working together: cross-ministerial and agency COVID‑19 enforcement support

From the day the pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020 to March 31, 2021, the ministry’s OHS inspection team has conducted over 45,000 COVID‑19 related field visitsfootnote 4. The ministry also established and supported operational interdisciplinary teams. These teams responded to the increased need for OHS education and awareness, compliance assistance and enforcement. Examples follow below.

Coronavirus Advisory Team

The ministry established an internal committee to assist with a rapid response to our inspectors in the field. This committee later became known as the Coronavirus Advisory Team (COVAT). The focus of COVAT was to support the ministry’s OHS field staff in three main ways:

  • ensure field staff are aware of the latest developments across the province
  • help field staff apply the legislation and regulations consistently across the province
  • help field staff work with businesses and workers to navigate the public health and workplace safety requirements in place to stop the spread of COVID‑19

COVAT is comprised of regional representatives, program experts, including Infection Control Specialists, Provincial Specialists and the ministry’s Senior Medical Consultants. Throughout 2020-21, COVAT held regular meetings with field staff and additional experts who provided support as required.

Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and Reopening Ontario Act, 2020 Team

After the COVID‑19 pandemic was declared a provincial emergency, various orders were put in place to help stop the spread of the virus. Two main pieces of legislation guided Ontario’s response:

  • The Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA)
  • The Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID‑19) Act, 2020 (ROA)

However, businesses, workers and members of the public required direct support as they tried to navigate the legislative requirements. In response, the ministry brought together the EMCPA/ROA team (ROAT). The role of this team was to:

  • review the legislation and provide enforcement direction
  • develop training and resources to aid inspectors and officers in helping businesses comply with the regulations.

Enforcement staff across many ministries were designated as Provincial Offences Officers under the Provincial Offences Act. They were given the power to enforce both the EMCPA and the ROA requirements. The ROAT trained ministry inspectors and officers, promoted compliance and assessed the results of these efforts.

The in-person visits from enforcement staff helped businesses to determine what actions they needed to take to comply with Ontario regulations. Businesses also received supportive information and resources to apply for funding. With these supports, businesses were able to both open safely for workers and help stop the spread of COVID‑19.

Compliance Assistance Team (CAT)

Early in the pandemic, OHS inspectors responded to an unusually high number of OHS complaints and work refusals. This meant fewer resources were available for proactive compliance assistance. Proactive work is key to help workplaces improve their practices even when no complaints have been made.

In April 2020, the ministry created the Compliance Assistance Team (CAT) to fill the gap. This team included Employment Standards Officers (ESOs) across the province. The Regulatory Modernization Act, 2007 (RMA) was used to provide limited Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) authorities to ESOs across the province.

The CAT officers initially started in the construction sector to get boots on the ground. They worked to provide compliance assistance to help workplace parties keep their workplaces safe amid the challenges of COVID‑19. The CAT project was expanded in May 2020 to sectors that were permitted to open under the new Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID‑19) Act, 2020 (ROA).

CAT officers played a key role in promoting ROA and OHSA compliance by providing information to businesses and organizations. In total, more than 60 officers participated. From April 2020 to March 2021, they provided OHS compliance assistance and ROA education and enforcement through:

  • 2,468 construction sector visits
  • 7,532 industrial sector visits (including retail, personal care, restaurants and others).

Partnering with Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA)

At the start of the pandemic, the ministry Health and Safety Contact Centre began to receive many phone and email complaints from public health units and the public regarding COVID‑19 in the workplace. The number of complaints rose quickly to hundreds each week.

In April 2020, the ministry contracted the TSSA to help address these complaints. Two dozen TSSA inspectors across the province were trained on how to respond. They completed field visits and helped enforce the EMCPAfootnote 5.

Over time, the number of complaints began to drop. As of May 13, 2020, the TSSA began to focus more on proactive field visits to workplaces allowed to open within the Stage 2 restrictionsfootnote 6. TSSA inspectors used these visits to provide compliance assistance to those businesses.

As the province began to reopen, providing compliance assistance to businesses on the new requirements became a priority. The total number of complaints referred to TSSA from April 21, 2020 to March 31, 2021 was 1,461. The total number of field visits was 12,489. Most of these visits (90%) were proactive.

From the findings noted above, there were:

  • 4,023 visits to full-service restaurants
  • 2,645 visits to limited service restaurants (take-out and pick-up)
  • 1,327 visits to personal care services
  • 324 visits to retailers (including grocery stores, big box retailers, convenience stores, etc.).

Multi-Ministry Team (MMT)

In response to the call for help with the enforcement of COVID‑19 regulationsfootnote 7, in October 2020 the ministry led the development of a Multi-Ministry Team (MMT). The MMT includes more than 450 provincial offences officers from various ministries. They volunteered to help as needed throughout Ontario. Participating ministries and partners include:

  • Ministry of Education
  • Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
  • Ministry of Finance
  • Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
  • Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry
  • Ministry of the Solicitor General
  • Ministry of Transportation
  • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Regulatory Compliance Ontario

As one of the lead ministries of the MMT, we provided training to inspectors and officers and guidance on enforcement action. We also managed the collection of data on field visit activity and data reporting on all the campaigns.

MMT campaigns were designed to help businesses comply with the province’s COVID‑19 regulations. The MMT worked with police, public health units and by-law departments to avoid duplicating local compliance and enforcement efforts. Campaigns were scheduled based on the needs of the local public health unit and municipalities. To help the province reopen safely, campaigns focused first on key sectors, taking a gradual approach to enforcement, using compliance assistance and education as well as tickets.

Between October 23, 2020 to March 31, 2021, the MMT conducted a total of 9,549 field visitsfootnote 8. In 3,702 of those visits, the MMT identified ROA non-compliances. The MMT provided additional support to these businesses to help them become compliant. However, where enforcement measures were warranted, inspectors issued:

  • 1,236 formal warnings
  • 868 OHSA orders
  • 401 tickets

Working with other partners to support OHS during the pandemic

The ministry sought the support of other partners to reach thousands of more businesses across Ontario.

They worked to spread awareness about new COVID‑19-related requirements through site visits and engagements by phone. For example:

  • Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) conducted a total of 1,210 phone consultations and 424 site visits to construction workplaces.
  • Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS) conducted 211 engagements, mainly with food manufacturing and food service workplaces.

Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) played a central role in re-opening the court system and schools. PSHSA’s COVID‑19 risk assessments provided expertise and best practices for infection prevention and control. Applying these measures, clients were able to make informed operational decisions while protecting the health and safety of employees and the public. These COVID‑19 risk assessments covered:

  • physical site inspections
  • careful consideration of floor plans
  • current control measures and personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • the flow of workers and materials through each facility
  • reviews of organizational safety plans

PSHSA’s performed a total of 301 risk assessments from April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021. Visits included:

  • 87 courthouse locations
  • 5 tribunal sites
  • 40 Provincial Offences Act courts
  • 88 Legal Aid Ontario offices
  • 24 Employment Ontario apprenticeship exam centres
  • 21 schools
  • 14 Service Ontario locations
  • 12 mediation rooms at the Ontario Labour Relations Board
  • 10 mediation rooms at the Workplace Safety & Insurance Appeals Tribunal

Footnotes