A message from Ontario’s occupational health and safety system leaders

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is committed to supporting occupational health and safety (OHS) prevention initiatives. Our goal is to help maintain a strong, and productive workforce.

Ontario’s five-year occupational health and safety strategy — Prevention Works — was released in July 2021. Prevention Works sets out a vision to build a province where workplaces are free from occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Led by the Chief Prevention Officer, the rollout of Prevention Works will depend on the joint efforts of many. Our partners are focused on achieving the best possible results in areas such as compliance, awareness, research and training.

The past fiscal year was an ambitious one. We undertook dozens of initiatives and achieved some notable milestones. As always, we focused our efforts on the most vulnerable workers. We continued to prioritize the sectors that experience higher rates of injuries and fatalities.

Highlights

  • We reviewed training standards to ensure quality training for workers.
  • We helped protect workers through new and amended regulations. We also created new tools to help workplace parties comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
  • We improved support for small businesses by developing the Workplace Safety Plan Builder.
  • We implemented return-to-work initiatives as the economy re-opened after the COVID‑19 crisis.

The nature of work and workplaces in Ontario is evolving. We must continue to focus on sectors where occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities are high, but we must also adapt to new risks.

We learned many lessons over the course of the COVID‑19 pandemic. We are applying these lessons to help better protect workers and cultivate a culture of health and safety in workplaces across the province. We want to ensure that Ontarians have the proper supports to feel protected against COVID‑19 in the workplace. We want all businesses across Ontario to stay open and safe.

The progress we have made would not have been possible without the collaboration of the whole system and its commitment to improving workplace health and safety. We would like to thank and commend our occupational health and safety system partners as well as our stakeholders. Their efforts are central to helping to promote healthy and safe Ontario workplaces.

Dr. Joel Moody, Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) / Assistant Deputy Minister, Prevention Division

Sandra Lawson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Fair, Safe and Healthy Workplaces Division

David Beaulieu, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Division

A message from Prevention Council

On behalf of the council, we wish to congratulate the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (the ministry) and the members of the occupational health and safety (OHS) system on another successful year. Together, they have taken many important new steps to protect and improve the health and safety of Ontario’s workers and employers. It is our privilege to contribute to these efforts.

Over this past year, the council continued to make health and safety a top priority by advising the Minister and the Chief Prevention Officer. For example, we identified priority items for advice, including occupational health and safety (OHS) training. We also provided recommendations to the Minister to improve a number of initiatives, including naloxone kits in the workplaces.

To strengthen health and safety compliance in workplaces, we issued statements to industry stakeholders and partners on:

  • COVID-19 guidance and safety
  • vaccinations against COVID‑19
  • commemorating the Day of Mourning
  • acknowledging the Metron Inquest
  • recognizing the work of the Ontario Mine Rescue teams in the Totten Mine Rescue

These statements helped to raise awareness and promote OHS in the province.

The council is committed to working with the ministry to continue to improve the OHS system. We are focused on training, occupational illness prevention, workplace mental health and supports for small business.

We have also reviewed and endorsed the ministry’s Prevention Works strategy and its objectives. We are committed to supporting its implementation over the next five years.

The Prevention Council is dedicated to making Ontario one of the healthiest and safest jurisdictions in Canada. We look forward to working with the ministry and OHS system partners to create safer and healthier workplaces for all workers and employers in Ontario.

Prevention Council members, 2021–2022:

Blair Allin
National Health and Safety Representative, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
Brian Arnold
Fire Chief, Cambridge Fire Department
Patrick Bourgeois (Vice-Chair)
Construction Manager, Peter Kiewit Sons ULC
John Bourke
Business Manager/Financial Secretary, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Stephen Chaplin
Vice President of Health, Safety & Environment, EllisDon
Rodney Cook
Vice President Workplace Health and Safety Services, WSIB
Cora DeMarco
Manager, Technica Mining
Colin de Raaf
Director of Training, CLAC
Daniel Fleming
Manager, Training and Development GTA, NORCAT
Dr. Isra Levy
Vice President of Medical Affairs and Innovation, Canadian Blood Services
Lee-Anne Lyon-Bartley
Executive Vice President, HSEQ, Dexterra Group
Bill Mader
Insulator, Local 95
Erin Oliver (Chair)
Vice President of Health, Safety and Sustainability, Modern Niagara Group Inc.
Patricia Pereira Janicas
Director, Health & Safety, Kenaidan Contracting Ltd
Dustin Philp
Plant Chairperson, Tormont-Concord Unifor Local 112
Sandro Pinto
Executive Director, LiUNA Local 183
Peter Rowe
Director, Chair of the Regulatory Committee, Ontario Petroleum Institute
James St. John
Business Manager/Financial Secretary, Central Ontario Building Trades
Roger Tickner
President, Tickner and Associates Inc.