Published plans and annual reports 2021-2022: Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development

Ministry overview

Ministry’s Vision

The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) leads Ontario’s effort to be the best jurisdiction in North America to recruit, train, retain, protect and reward workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow. The Ministry’s work on this front creates dynamic and equitable labour markets, safe workplaces, and harmonious and competitive labour and employment regulations. It is the Ministry’s job to support the people of Ontario in all aspects and phases of employment.

The labour market

• Identifying jobs of the future and related skills.
• Nominating workers for permanent residence that have the right skills, experience and education to support the economy.
• Connecting job seekers with training and skills development opportunities.
• Promoting apprenticeships in skilled trades and developing programs and incentives to support increased uptake.

In the workplace

• Developing policy to promote safe, fair and harmonious workplaces.
• Helping parties resolve disputes quickly and providing collective bargaining data, research and trend analysis to inform decision‐making.
• Enforcing the laws and providing information and education.
• Working with partners to prevent workplace injuries, illness and fatalities.

Post employment

• Setting rules around termination, layoff and severance.
• Supporting workers who lose their jobs and need to transition to a new career.
• Sending rapid response teams in cases of mass layoffs.
• Ensuring compensation and supports in place for injured workers.

MLTSD supports a number of key government priorities for protecting Ontario’s economy, such as:

• establishing a competitive economy that creates good jobs and attracts investments
• keeping Ontario workers safe
• ensuring fair and stable workplaces that increase productivity
• ensuring employment and training sectors are efficient and aligned with Ontario’s labour market needs
• making Ontario’s skilled trades and apprenticeship system more client-focused, flexible, and accessible
• transforming and integrating Ontario’s employment services to help job seekers, including those on social assistance, find and keep good jobs
• nominating skilled immigrants for permanent residence that help fill Ontario’s labour market gaps and grow the province’s economy
• supporting newcomers with settlement services and language training programs to set them up for economic success in the province

As such, MLTSD plays a critical role in Ontario’s economic recovery and getting people safely back to work after the COVID‑19 outbreak. The Ministry’s response to the pandemic will continue to focus on enhancing and reprioritizing existing programs and ensuring it is able to respond to the changing demands of an unprecedented situation.

Ministry Programs

MLTSD contributes to government priorities through the delivery of public services in five primary areas of responsibility:

• Employment Ontario
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Employment Standards
• Labour Relations
• Global Talent and Adult Language Training

Employment Ontario (EO) aims to address labour market and skills gaps and enhance employment opportunities for all Ontarians. It does so through the design and delivery of a range of policies and programs related to employment services, workforce development, talent retention, access to a highly skilled workforce, effective apprenticeship and skills development training, and labour market research and planning.

The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Program aims to prevent fatalities, illness, and injuries across Ontario workplaces. The OHS program has two major streams – OHS Enforcement and OHS Prevention.

OHS Enforcement activities are focused on ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations, particularly in high hazard workplaces. OHS Prevention activities are delivered in collaboration with system partners such as the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and Health and Safety Associations (HSAs). Through these OHS activities, the ministry ensures business stability by creating safe and healthy workplaces.

The Employment Standards (ES) Program helps create fair workplaces, and a level playing field for employers, thereby reinforcing a competitive business environment that also attracts jobs and investment to Ontario.

The Labour Relations (LR) Program supports a stable and constructive labour relations climate and promotes productive workplace relationships in Ontario by facilitating effective labour relations, dispute resolution and providing collective bargaining information, research, and analysis to bargaining parties. MLTSD maintains a neutral role with respect to unions and employers.

The Global Talent and Adult Language Training Program nominates for permanent residence foreign workers, international students and others with the right education, skills and experience that Ontario’s economy needs. The program also delivers settlement services to newcomers including language training to help them develop the official language skills needed to integrate into the province and contribute to the labour market.

Planned Activities and Continued COVID-19 Response in 2021-22

The Ministry is continuing to address impacts of COVID‑19 through a number of initiatives planned for the upcoming year. The ministry’s focus will continue to be on protecting Ontario’s workers and its economy.

• MLTSD will continue to support the province’s economic recovery through Employment Ontario, focusing on delivery of the Skills Development Fund, expansion of existing employment and training programs, calls for innovative ideas from key stakeholders (including employers and job seekers), and enhancing digital service delivery channels for skilled trades and apprenticeships. For more details please see page 20.
• To position Ontario as one of the top jurisdictions with a world-class workforce and talent supply, the government is establishing an Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee led by workforce and industry experts. Its mandate will focus on economic recovery, strengthening Ontario’s competitiveness and supporting workers.
• To further support economic recovery, in 2021-22 MLTSD will be leading the development of a Workforce Development Action Plan which will provide a roadmap for ensuring Ontario workers have the skills to find good, high-quality jobs in a changing economy. Applying an economic recovery lens, the ministry will review its suite of existing skills training programs and workforce development features to support Ontario’s communities, job seekers and workers, businesses, and essential industries.
• Small businesses have been disproportionally impacted by the COVID‑19 pandemic and typically have less resources and support to improve their workplace health and safety. MLTSD will be providing free occupational health and safety training for health and safety representatives in up to 60,000 small businesses by investing $3.5 million annually over a three‐year period, focused on helping to lower injury rates and improve health and safety awareness and practices in small businesses.
• MLTSD will be renewing Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Strategy for 2021 to 2026 to improve health and safety in workplaces, prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the medium and long term, as well as support workplaces through the COVID‑19 pandemic in the short term. Through the strategy, the occupational health and safety system is moving towards an evidence-informed, risk-based model where prevention initiatives are outcomes-focused, with measurable results for continuous improvement.
• The ministry is developing an online COVID‑19 safety plan builder to make it easier and faster for small businesses to develop custom COVID‑19 safety plans to help them comply with public health and occupational health requirements.

2021-22 Strategic plan

Employment Ontario (EO)

The objective of Employment Ontario (EO) is to support job seekers in connecting with opportunities to find and keep good jobs, ensure employers can hire the skilled workers they need, and make sure the province has the best possible employment services. EO aims to achieve this by equipping more people with valuable skills through apprenticeships and transforming employment and training services to improve labour market outcomes for job seekers.

EO’s major activities and areas of focus are comprised of the following:

1. Support of apprenticeship and the skilled trades which involve a combination of in-class and work-based training for people who want to work in a skilled trade. Apprenticeship opportunities help businesses harness new talent while equipping workers with the practical skills and qualifications that the economy needs now and in the future. To achieve its vision for a flexible, client-focused apprenticeship and skilled trades system, the ministry will continue to:
   • Modernize skilled trades in the province by creating a new service delivery model in place of the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT). Under the new model, Ontario will be in a stronger position to support future skilled tradespeople and the businesses that need them.
   • Promote apprenticeship and the skilled trades as high-profile and desirable first choice careers in elementary and secondary schools. This will be done by creating awareness of skilled trades opportunities in the province and investing in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, Pre-apprenticeship, and Skills Ontario. In addition, Ontario appointed three Youth Advisors that will continue to engage with youth, educators, business, parents and other key partners on how to reduce stigma and make the trades a viable first choice for young people.
   • Increase support for the Specialist High Skills Major program for students in Grades 11 and 12 to gain job-ready skills and explore opportunities in the skilled trades.
   • Simplify the system and remove obstacles for apprentices as they begin and progress through their careers (reducing red-tape), by investing in the Apprentice Development Benefit, the Grant for Apprentice Learning and the new Tools Grant, and modernizing digital service delivery for the skilled trades and apprenticeship by providing secure and convenient access to online information and services.
   • Work with industry on workforce planning to ensure that Ontario has the skilled labour it needs for priority infrastructure projects.
   • Provide supports for Training Delivery Agents to deliver high quality training using modern training equipment; and,
   • Encourage more employers to participate in the apprenticeship system by providing financial incentives.
2. Employment Ontario’s employment and training system helps people find and keep full-time jobs. The EO system is composed of Ontario’s community-based network including employment service providers, literacy providers, public colleges, direct delivery apprenticeship offices, and training delivery agents. The ministry is committed to ongoing improvement in the way employment services are delivered.

Ontario recognizes the importance of digital services and is looking to modernize its approach to training and skills development, especially during COVID‑19 when in‐person interactions are limited. MLTSD will transform the way it delivers employment services by moving to a new integrated service delivery model that is focused on outcomes. The government is investing in a new, modern suite of digital services to complement the in‐person services delivered through Employment Ontario.

The Digital Strategy for Employment Services will help job seekers get the right information, tools and services, and will help employers more easily find the talent they need. EO systems are funded in part through two federal transfer agreements: The Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA) and the Workforce Development Agreement (WDA). As part of Ontario’s ongoing work to support effective skills training and workforce development systems, the province will continue to advocate for increased flexibility on the amount and use of the funding under these agreements. This will maximize the province’s ability to deliver critical EO services and will support a swift recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

The goal of MLTSD’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program is to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. The legislative foundation of the OHS program is the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations, which establish the rights and duties of all workplace parties. The OHSA requires compliance with minimum standards to protect the health and safety of Ontario workers. The program also undertakes activities such as policy development, legislative/regulatory reform, establishment of health and safety standards, information and knowledge management, and performance management and evaluation, training and education to raise public awareness. The OHS program delivers its services through two major streams – OHS Enforcement and OHS Prevention.

OHS Prevention

MLTSD’s prevention activities are guided by the province-wide integrated occupational health and safety strategy. A key component of carrying out this strategy is the partnership MLTSD has with Health and Safety Associations (HSAs). MLTSD funds and oversees HSAs that offer OHS training, consulting, products, the mine rescue program, and specialized clinic services. The Prevention program also funds and oversees specialized research centres that strengthen the OHS system through enhanced delivery of OHS services and products.

There are a number of OHS training, awareness activities, and reviews planned for the 2021-22 fiscal year, including Working at Heights (WAH) training and the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certification training program.

OHS Enforcement

OHS Enforcement activities are focused on ensuring compliance with the OHSA and its regulations, particularly in high hazard workplaces to reduce workplace fatalities, injuries, and illness, and promote safe and healthy workplaces in the province. The ministry’s strategy for enforcing the OHSA is based on three pillars:

1. Core enforcement through ministry’s OHS inspectors who have broad powers to enforce the OHSA.
2. Assisting and supporting compliance through the provision of information, resources, and tools to assist workplaces in meeting legislative requirements.
3. Partnership where the ministry continues to build on its strong relationships within Ontario’s occupational health and safety system, including but not limited to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), HSAs, approved training providers, and the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), to refine ministry enforcement efforts.

Employment Standards (ES)

MLTSD plays a vital role in promoting awareness of employment standards, such as minimum wage, hours of work, public holidays, and other standards through the ES Program. The program contributes to the creation and maintenance of fair and equitable workplaces that promote a competitive business environment and a level playing field for employers.

The program administers and enforces the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), and its regulations along with the Employment Protection of Foreign Nationals Act, 2009 (EPFNA), and the Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015 (PCPA). Enforcement activities are delivered through regional field offices and by employment standards officers (ESOs) who investigate and resolve complaints under these Acts.

The ES program also delivers research, analysis, and strategic and operational policy development functions that ensure the employment standards framework (legislative and regulatory) reflects government commitments. Policy development and program planning for 2021-22 will continue to be shaped by COVID‑19. For example, policy efforts will focus on economic recovery as the program leads the Ontario Workforce Advisory Committee. The Program will also continue to monitor claims volumes and pivot efforts as needed and will offer employee and employer education to help workplaces adapt to ‘the new normal.’

Labour Relations (LR)

Stable labour relations are a cornerstone of economic prosperity. The objective of the LR program is to create a stable labour relations climate and harmonious workplace relationships needed to foster productive, supportive, and dynamic workplaces in Ontario. LR provides services to the Ontario Public Service, the broader public sector and private sector, and is the central source of neutral labour relations information, policy, and research in Ontario. Through the LR program, MLTSD administers and supports key legislation, including the Labour Relations Act, 1995.

LR services will be delivered in 2021-22 through key services, including:

Mediation Services - facilitates and monitors the collective bargaining process in the province and assists employers and trade unions to resolve outstanding issues through conciliation and mediation.

Arbitration Services - facilitates and monitors the arbitration process, identifies and appoints experienced and acceptable individuals to act as arbitrators and nominees of arbitration cases, and catalogues arbitration awards for public availability.

Labour Relations Information Bureau (LRIB) and Collective Bargaining Program Administration (CBPA) – serves as the data collection and analysis centre for all of Ontario’s public and private sector collective agreements and provides digital solutions to support businesses and Ontarians with neutral collective bargaining information.

The LR program also includes a policy development function, which manages legislative, regulatory and policy development for labour relations in Ontario. This includes providing advice, supporting inter-ministerial and inter-governmental policy development, and conducting consultations with stakeholders.

Global Talent and Adult Language Training Program

The ministry is unifying provincial immigration programs and policy under a single umbrella, which will allow the government to better coordinate its immigration-related priorities, including maximizing the benefits of skilled immigration to the economy.

The Adult Language Training Program delivers English and French as a Second Language training to immigrants to help them develop official language skills. The program assists newcomers by providing information, orientation, and service navigation to facilitate social and economic settlement in Ontario.

Through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) the ministry delivers on its mandate to create a dynamic labour market. OINP is delivered in partnership with the Government of Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The OINP recognizes and nominates those who have the skills and experience the Ontario economy needs for permanent residence in Canada. This includes foreign entrepreneurs who have demonstrated a commitment to establish or purchase and grow durable and long-lasting businesses in communities across the province. The Government of Canada makes the final decision to approve all applications for permanent residence.

Anti-Racism Action Plan

Beginning 2021-22, MLTSD will be leading the anti-racism action plan, a key commitment of the OPS Anti-Racism Policy to identify and remove systemic racism barriers within policies, processes and practices that lead to racialized disparities across the employment cycle. The ministry will provide transformation and change management initiatives for the ministry through planning, development, evaluation and implementation of program frameworks focused on systemic change and anti-racism.

Detailed Financial Information

Combined operating and capital summary by Vote

Ministry Total Operating Expense

Historic trend

Further information on the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s programs and initiatives please visit our webiste.

For additional financial information, see:

• Expenditure Estimates
• Public Accounts of Ontario: past editions
• Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy

Agencies, boards and commissions

The work of the ministry is supported by several agencies.

Office of the Worker Adviser (OWA): The OWA provides advisory, representation, and educational services to non-unionized injured workers and survivors, and represents them before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. The OWA also provides support to non-unionized workers in Section 50 (Occupational Health and Safety Act) reprisal cases being heard at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Office of the Employer Adviser (OEA): The OEA provides advisory and educational services to all Ontario employers and representation services primarily to smaller employers, with fewer than 100 employees, with regard to workplace safety and insurance matters before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. The OEA also provides support to employers with fewer than 50 employees in Section 50 (Occupational Health and Safety Act) reprisal cases being heard at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Pay Equity Office (PEO): The PEO administers Ontario’s Pay Equity Act, which is intended to redress systemic gender discrimination in the compensation of work primarily performed by women. The PEO provides education and advice to employers, employees, and bargaining agents in the public and private sectors to achieve and maintain pay equity in their workplaces. The PEO also investigates complaints, conducts monitoring programs, attempts to effect settlements of pay equity issues between the parties and issues orders for compliance where necessary.

Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal (PEHT): The PEHT, a quasi-judicial tri-partite administrative tribunal, is responsible for adjudicating disputes arising under the Pay Equity Act.

Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB): The OLRB is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal that mediates and adjudicates a variety of employment and labour relations-related matters under various Ontario statutes, including appeals of decisions of employment standards officers and occupational health and safety inspectors.

Crown Employees Grievance Settlement Board (GSB): The GSB is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that mediates and adjudicates labour relations rights disputes of Ontario Crown Employees.

Public Service Grievance Board (PSGB): The PSGB is an independent, adjudicative tribunal that provides dispute resolution services to certain management and excluded members of Ontario’s public service.

Office of the Fairness Commissioner (OFC): The OFC supports the Fairness Commissioner in acting on the mandate set out in the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006 (FARPACTA) and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA). The Fairness Commissioner assesses the registration practices of certain regulated professions and trades to make sure they are transparent, objective, impartial, and fair for anyone applying to practice his or her profession in Ontario.

Agencies Not Part of Ministry Estimates

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB): The WSIB promotes health and safety in workplaces; facilitates the return to work and recovery of workers who sustain personal injury arising out of, and in the course of, employment or who suffer from an occupational disease; facilitates the re-entry into the labour market of workers and spouses of deceased workers; and provides compensation and other benefits to workers and to the survivors of deceased workers.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT): The WSIAT is an adjudicative tribunal which may confirm or vary a WSIB decision, and hears and decides appeals of final decisions of the WSIB.

Prevention Council: The Prevention Council provides advice to the Minister on the appointment of a Chief Prevention Officer and any other matters as specified by the Minister. Further, the Prevention Council provides advice to the Chief Prevention Officer on the prevention of workplace injuries and occupational diseases, for the purposes of the provincial occupational health and safety strategy, and the annual report under section 22.3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and on any significant proposed changes to the funding and delivery of services for the prevention of workplace injuries and occupational diseases.

Labour-Management Advisory Committee: The Labour-Management Advisory Committee advises on grievance arbitration matters and about individuals qualified to act as grievance arbitrators under the Labour Relations Act, 1995.

College of Trades Appointments Council and Classification Roster (COTACCR): The COTACCR appoints members to the Ontario College of Trades’ governing structure, and establishes panels to make determinations on the classification of trades in Ontario as either voluntary or compulsory. As part of government’s intention to replace the Ontario College of Trades, activities related to COTACCR have ceased.

Ontario Immigrant Investor Corporation (OIIC): The OIIC operates as an agency that invests and repays monies received from the federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP), which granted permanent residence to qualifying immigrants to Ontario. The funds managed by OIIC are held outside of the consolidated revenue fund. In April 2014, the federal government terminated the Immigrant Investor Program, but the OIIC is legally bound to remain operational until the last repayment of immigrant investor monies allocated to Ontario, anticipated to occur in 2022-23.

Summary of expenditures: Agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs)

Notes:

1. All costs of the Grievance Settlement Board are fully recovered from government Ministries as expenditure recoveries and from crown employers and trade unions as revenue:

Grievance settlement board recoveries

Ministry recoverables	2020-21 Interim	2020-21 Estimates
Recoveries – government ministries	2,106,100	2,106,100
Revenue – crown employers and unions	2,485,700	2,485,700
Total recoverable	4,591,800	4,591,800

2. The amounts shown are gross amounts and are fully recoverable from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

   The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal report to the Minister of Labour but are not included in the ministry's Expenditure Estimates because they are not funded through the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

Ministry organization chart

• Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development
  • Deputy Minister
    • Fair, Safe & Healthy Workplaces Division ADM
      • OHS Emergency Response
      • Northern Region
      • Eastern Region
      • Western Region
      • South Western Region
      • Central East Region
      • Central West Region
      • Occupational Health & Safety Branch
      • Employment Practices Branch
      • Operations Integration Unit
    • Central Areas
      • Communications Branch
      • Labour & Transportation I&IT Cluster (Ministry of Transportation)
      • Legal Services Branch (Ministry of the Attorney General)
      • Internal Audit Services (Treasury Board Secretariat)
      • Executive Advisor
    • Corporate Management & Services Division CAO/ADM
      • Strategic Human Resources Branch
      • Finance & Administration Branch
      • Corporate Services Branch
    • Prevention Division CPO/ADM
      • Strategy & Integration Branch
      • Training & Awareness Branch
    • Settlement Services Division ADM
      • Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP) Operations
      • Immigration Policy & Strategic Initiatives
      • Settlement Services
    • Workforce Policy & Innovation Division ADM
      • Strategic Partnerships & Evaluation
      • Strategic Workforce Policy & Programs Branch
      • Apprenticeship
      • Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Transition
    • Employment & Training Division ADM
      • Finance, Analysis and Systems Support Branch
      • Organizational and Business Excellence Branch
      • Program Delivery Support Branch
      • Western Region
      • Central Region
      • Eastern Region
      • Northern Region
  • Associate Deputy Minister, Policy & Labour Relations ADM
    • Strategic Policy Division
      • Health, Safety & Insurance Policy Branch
      • Employment, Labour & Corporate Policy Branch
      • Data Analytics & Research Branch
    • Labour Relations Solutions Division ADM
      • Dispute Resolution Services Branch
      • Strategic Initiatives Branch

• Ministry Agencies
  • Deputy Minister
  • Ontario Labour Relations Board
  • Grievance Settlement Board
  • Pay Equity Commission
  • Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal
  • Office of the Employer Adviser
  • Office of the Worker Adviser
  • Workplace Safety & Insurance Board
  • Workplace Safety & Insurance Appeals Tribunal
  • Office of the Fairness Commissioner
  • Ontario Immigrant Investor Corporation
  • College of Trades Appointments Council
  • Prevention Council

Annual report

In 2020-21, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) supported the government’s focus on making Ontario more competitive by preparing people for jobs, supporting employers in meeting their labour needs, creating safe and fair workplaces that increase productivity, and building a smarter government through key investments and providing new tools to employers.

COVID-19 Response in 2020-21

At the onset of the global COVID‑19 pandemic, MLTSD reacted swiftly to help Ontario’s workers, businesses and communities navigate the crisis, and has been pivotal in supporting Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID‑19. In addition to shifting to digital and remote service delivery across multiple lines of business, MLTSD has implemented a number of response measures.

• MLTSD developed key legislative and regulatory measures to address the employment impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic, including the creation of infectious disease emergency leave and the temporary deferral of statutory termination and severance entitlements for temporary COVID related lay-offs. The ministry also supported the creation of emergency orders concerning workplace deployment under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) which continued under the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA).
• In order to support Inspectors and promote a consistent enforcement approach regarding COVID‑19, a Coronavirus Advisory Team (COVAT) was created composed of Managers, Regional Program Coordinators, field staff, and specialists, who provided feedback and advice to staff on over 1,200 field outreach requests.
• The OHS Program has been a critical part of the government’s response to the pandemic. Ensuring that workers are protected in workplaces that remained operational during the outbreak has been a core priority for the ministry. As a result, the ministry has increased its frontline enforcement capacity by hiring an additional 102 inspectors. The OHS Enforcement Program has responded to a surge in demand for its services, including inquiries regarding worker protections for COVID‑19 and investigation of complaints related to workplace health and safety in 2020-21. To support health and safety compliance in workplaces, the program has also enhanced COVID‑19 related inspections in priority sectors, and doubled the capacity of Ontario's Health and Safety Call Centre from 25 to 50 phone lines.
• During fiscal year 2020-21, occupational health and safety inspectors and multi-ministry teams of provincial offences officers have conducted more than 58,700 COVID-related workplace inspections and investigations across the province. During those visits, they’ve issued over 47,500 orders and over 500 COVID‑19 related tickets.
• The OHS Prevention Program worked with partner ministries to support the safe operation of essential businesses such as farming, food processing and construction, as well as the reopening of key enablers of the economy including schools, childcare services, and transportation. In partnership with Ontario’s health and safety associations, more than 200 workplace resources to address over 30 sectors have been developed to help employers protect against COVID‑19. Available at Ontario.ca/covidsafety, these resources have had over 1.2 million page views.
• In March 2020, the Pandemic Workplace Safety Branch was established to help provide occupational health and safety support to Ontario workplaces and to act as a key support for the ministry and government more broadly. Achievements include: supporting the development of guidance for essential services, producing over 200 workplace resources for more than 30 sectors and developing a COVID‑19 workplace safety plan toolkit mandatory for all businesses under the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA). Working with ministry partners, MLTSD participated in the Ministry of Health-led Provincial Antigen Screening Program by joining other ministries in communicating the program to employers and gauging interest. The Pandemic Workplace Safety Branch worked with the construction sector to help support the process between employers and the Ministries of Health and Government and Consumer Services to access tests and report on usage and findings.
• In June 2020, MLTSD released a guide on how to “Develop Your COVID‑19 Workplace Safety Plan”, to help employers develop a plan to keep workers and patrons safe. The guide is supported by a checklist, and there are free webinars on how to develop a safety plan, along with several sample safety plans available. MLTSD through the Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA) also offers free online training for Infection Prevention and Control at Work: Basic Awareness that equips workers in a variety of workplace types with information about how infections are spread and what actions workers can take to protect themselves and others from infectious hazards that may exist in their workplace.
• In response to Keeping Ontario Safe and Open, MLTSD hosted a variety of webinars on topics, such as COVID‑19 related OHS and employment standards,  and the ministry’s role in the enforcement process. The webinars were delivered to over 2,000 small business owners and vulnerable workers. The ministry also provided support and education to small businesses through workplace safety campaigns which provide information such as how to safely reopen and how to avoid COVID in the workplace.
• The ministry worked with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to allow employers to defer payments for six months, providing employers with $1.9 billion in financial relief between March 2020 and August 2020.
• MLTSD has worked with Health and Safety Associations (HSAs) to deploy up to 30 health and safety specialists and more than 200 provincial offences officers from across the government to support employers and workers in the field. The ministry has also been working with the Ministry of Health, other ministries, employers, and stakeholders in providing regulatory and technical advice on occupational health and prevention of illness.
• Ontario continues to support workers hardest hit by the COVID‑19 pandemic by investing an additional $614.3 million during 2020–21 and 2021–22 to provide targeted employment and training supports. This includes:
  • The Skills Development Fund to help training and employment organizations assist workers during the province's economic recovery;
  • Assistance to women, racialized individuals, Indigenous people, youth and people with disabilities who are facing the highest rates of unemployment during the pandemic to get the training opportunities they need for good jobs and get connected with employers looking to grow their businesses;
  • Focus on providing workers in the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic, including the hospitality and tourism sectors, with career counselling and urgent training to find new careers and good jobs while leveraging transferable skills and experience;
  • Upgrade and expand high-speed internet and other digital infrastructure so community organizations, training providers and colleges can provide employment and training programs throughout the province, including to rural, remote and Northern regions, and;
  • Support Ontario workers with additional employment and training programs and services that are responsive to the province’s economic recovery.

• To support the skilled trades system in Ontario, the ministry passed a regulation that extended authorization to work for thousands of people working in the skilled trades awaiting to complete their certification examinations. This has allowed businesses to retain talent, enabled apprentices to remain employed, and continues to help Ontario provide essential services in areas such as hospital facilities, housing, transportation, and working utilities. The ministry has also worked with organizations responsible for apprenticeship in-class training to support the completion, rescheduling, and alternative delivery of the in-class programs that were disrupted by COVID‑19.
• The ministry has also invested $77 million to help people who were laid off due to the impact of COVID‑19 find in-demand jobs in their local communities. This funding is being provided through the redesigned Second Career grant program and will help more than 2,750 job seekers with up to $28,000 for tuition, training materials and living expenses.
• MLTSD made several legislative and regulatory changes under the Employment Standards Act to address the immediate employment effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic. The ES program has been an essential part of the ministry’s response to COVID‑19, actively promoting awareness of the various COVID changes affecting employment standards, including the ongoing availability of Infectious Disease Emergency Leave.
• The government passed the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Infectious Disease Emergencies), 2020 to provide job‐protected leave to employees in isolation or quarantine, or those who need to be away from work to care for children because of school or childcare closures due to the COVID‐19 outbreak. The leave is supplemented by the continuation of temporary regulations to preserve employment relationships, such as the deferral of statutory termination and severance entitlements while employees are on temporary lay-off due to COVID‑19.
• The ES program refocused some of its employment standards resources to assist in the enforcement of orders made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) and continued under the Reopening Ontario Act, 2020 (ROA), to provide occupational health and safety compliance assistance in the construction and food sectors. It has redeployed more than 50 employment standards officers to help businesses understand and comply with health and safety requirements.
• Through the LR program, the ministry provided neutral, evidence-based, collective bargaining analytics and informed labour relations policy support to the government and other ministries on various matters relating to COVID‑19. These stakeholders include hospitals, long-term care homes, retirement homes, other congregate care settings, municipalities, and the construction industry.

Reforming Apprenticeship and Supporting the Skilled Trades

In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the ministry made progress on creating a modernized, client-focused apprenticeship and skilled trades system, through investments in:

• Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, Pre-Apprenticeship, Skills Ontario and the appointment of three Youth Advisors to provide recommendations on how to make skilled trades an attractive career choice for the incoming labour force;
• Training Delivery Agents to support the delivery of high-quality training on up-to-date equipment; and,
• A new Group Sponsorship Grant and Achievement Incentive to encourage more employer participation in the apprenticeship system.

As part of this modernization framework, the ministry has been working towards the replacement of the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT). A Skilled Trades Panel has been appointed to consult with key stakeholders and provide advice and recommendations to the Minister on ways to modernize and improve the skilled trades and apprenticeship system, including the replacement of OCOT.

Supporting all job seekers and employers

Ontario’s employment and training programs help job seekers find and keep good jobs and help employers recruit the skilled workers they need. Employment Ontario is the province’s network of employment and training programs that supports job seekers and employers. For 2020-21 fiscal year:

• Employment Service: Provided over 528,000 clients with resources, supports, and services to respond to their career and employment needs.
• Second Career: Provided over 3,100 laid off, unemployed workers with an opportunity to get new skills for jobs that are in demand in Ontario.
• Canada-Ontario Job Grant: Provided grant funding to businesses to train over 8,000 new or current employees.
• SkillsAdvance Ontario: A sector-focused workforce development pilot that supported partnerships between 400 employers and 46 training providers.
• Literacy and Basic Skills Program: Helped over 39,000 adult learners build critical foundational skills such as reading, writing, numeracy, and digital skills.
• Youth Job Connection/ Youth Job Connection Summer: Helped more than 11,600 youth to either access programs that make them more job-ready, or to be matched with a job and offered employment.
• Supported Employment: Provided over 400 individuals who face complex barriers to employment as a result of a disability with the services and opportunities they need to prepare for and secure employment
• Ontario Bridge Training Program: Provided more than 4,800 highly-skilled internationally trained immigrants with the supports and services to achieve licensure and obtain commensurate employment in their respective field of training/expertise or a related field, in a timely manner.
• Rapid Re-employment and Training Service: Connected workers affected by layoff or closure with the relevant and appropriate EO programs. This includes providing funds to organizations to establish an Adjustment Committee, which can recommend the establishment of an Action Centre to provide timely and appropriate labour adjustment services. An Action Centre was established in Windsor to provide employment services and training to up to 800 workers, impacted by the Fiat Chrysler layoffs.

For the 2020-21 fiscal year, MLTSD also invested in new initiatives and enhanced existing lines of business to support employers and employees in the province.

On February 5th, 2021, MLTSD launched an open application process for the Skills Development Fund, which is designed to support projects that will enable market-driven solutions and unlock the economic potential of skilled trade and broader workforce development initiatives to facilitate economic recovery as a result of the COVID‑19 pandemic.

As part of the government’s Driving Prosperity Plan, the ministry launched a second round of the Career Ready Fund – Auto Stream in March 2020 to strengthen Ontario’s auto manufacturing sector by leveraging sector strengths and charting a path for growth and creating jobs. In 2020-21, the ministry committed $14 million to this program, which supports 12 recipients with the aim of creating over 3,000 new work placement opportunities in the automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors in Ontario. In support of the response to COVID‑19, the program was expanded to include work placements with auto or advanced manufacturers that have redirected efforts to produce medical supplies or equipment.

Creating a Dynamic Labour Market Through the OINP

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) achieved its 2020 nomination allocation and issued a total of 8,054 nominations to successful applicants across 9 program streams.

• The program also surpassed its 5% target for Francophone immigration, reaching 5.4% or 437 Francophone nominees. Nominees in 2020-21 came from over 130 different countries, with applicants from India and China receiving the highest number of nominations.
• At least 48% of nominees already had a job offer in Ontario before nomination. More than 96% held a postsecondary degree and at least 43% had high language skills (Canadian Language Benchmark 7 or above) in at least one of Canada’s official languages.
• Following its redesign in 2019, the OINP Entrepreneur Stream has seen tremendous growth. Interest in the stream has grown by over 400%, to over 460 submissions in 2020-21 alone. This translated into 80 applications received in 2020-21, a 645% increase over previous years.
• Also in 2020-21, the OINP Entrepreneur Stream successfully nominated its first ever foreign entrepreneur applicant for permanent residence. The nominated individual successfully purchased, operated, and grew a hospitality business in south-western Ontario.

Preventing Workplace Fatalities, Injuries and Illness

The Prevention Division engaged over 20 stakeholder groups, presenting and building momentum to help ensure broad support for the next OHS strategy.The Occupational Disease Action Plan (ODAP) Implementation Team focussed on:

• Providing updates on significant reports and new tools, such as the Demers report, Using Scientific Evidence and Principles to Help Determine the Work-relatedness of Cancer, and the Occupational Cancer Research Centre’s (OCRC) new interactive website to identify workers at risk for occupational diseases at occdiseasestats.ca
• Reviewing the current status of hazardous exposure and illness data to initiate discussions on opportunities to address gaps; and
• Initiating the development of a theory of change/logic model for Occupational Illness.

The Health and Safety Associations (HSAs) continue to develop initiatives to improve work-related mental health. The Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) prioritized work-related mental health by directing certain HSAs to spend a minimum of 10% of their annual funding on projects that include addressing this issue.

Over the course of 2020-2021, six new members were appointed to the Prevention Council. As stipulated in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, actions of the Prevention Council include providing advice to the Chief Prevention Officer on the direction of the new Occupational Health and Safety Strategy and on the Annual Written Report on Occupational Health and Safety. Through the Supporting Ontario’s Safety Employers (SOSE) program, MLTSD supports employers in maintaining effective control measures throughout their organization as it relates all health and safety hazards, which now includes COVID‑19.Employers are supported through financial and non-financial incentives to help offset the cost of implementing infection control measures, which help reduce or eliminate  the different health and safety hazards/risks that could be present in a workplace.

The Prevention Division completed the implementation and deployment of its online Certification Management System (CMS) on June 1st, 2020. This CMS was created to replace multiple outdated legacy information technology systems and manual processes.

In October 2020, the ministry established a data pipeline from the ministry’s vendor application environment to the Government of Ontario, I&IT environment. The ministry leverages this data pipeline for operational need, business intelligence and data analytics to measure and communicate the impact of Chief Prevention Officer approved occupational health and safety training programs.In 2020-21, a number of measures were put in place to increase accessibility to Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) training programs. This included revisions of program standards to simplify certification requirements and the introduction of eLearning options to improve access to training.

The ministry launched consultations for the Working at Heights 5-year training standards review. The consultations concluded in April, with proposed revised standards planned for release in Fall 2021.

The ministry updated and released a number of training and awareness materials including the Health & Safety at Work: Prevention Starts Here Poster, the Occupational Health and Safety Worker Awareness Training in 4 Steps, and the Supervisor Awareness Training in 5 Steps eLearning modules and workbooks.

Making workplaces safer and healthier

Achievements in 2020-21 aimed at making Ontario workplaces healthier and safer include the following:

• In 2020-21, OHS Inspectors carried out 72,473 field visit activities and issued 75,188 orders and requirements.
• The WSIB reported a Lost-Time Injury (LTI) rate for Schedule 1 employers of 0.98 in 2019. The 2020 LTI rate will be available by June 2021.

In 2020-21 OHS inspectors made 950 occupational health and safety visits as part of the 2020 Farming Initiative, including 710 visits to farms, greenhouses and other locations where agricultural workers work, issued 371 orders under the OHSA, and 87 COVID‑19 related orders.

After the two tower crane failures in Toronto during the summer of 2020, OHS responded with an audit of tower cranes at construction projects across Ontario. The four-month audit focused on tower crane inspection, maintenance, operation and testing as required by the Construction Regulation. Inspectors conducted 325 field visits and issued 911 orders including 118 stop work orders.

In 2020-21, the Materials Testing Laboratory (MTL) tested 667 samples in accordance with the CSA G-4 standard.

The Radiation Protection Services (RPS) team completed three audits/inspections, collected 1,346 samples, performed 2,584 analyses in support of the Ontario Reactor Surveillance Program (ORSP), analyzed 96 drinking water samples, resulting in 384 analyses performed in support of the Ontario Drinking Water Surveillance Program (DWSP) and completed a total of 552 x-ray registration and x-ray installation reviews.

Protecting Employees and Supporting Employers

In 2020-21 MLTSD made significant strides in the Employment Standards (ES) Program and continued to focus on claim resolution. Although the program saw a 45% decrease in overall intake as a result of the global pandemic, it continued to deliver on claims resolution and its compliance modernization goals, including:

• The launch of a new Compliance Continuum and Informed Judgment Matrix to provide officers with a progressive and flexible framework within which to exercise their discretion, compliance assistance to employers and promote consistency in enforcement efforts across the province.
• The launch of a suite of digital assets including a modern case management system to manage claim investigations and inspections, and a new and improved smart claim form for claimants to submit their employment standards complaints to the ministry. Both modernizations promote client self reliance, allowing users to access claim information independently.
• Adapting outreach efforts by converting historical in-person educational presentation delivery to a remote, webinar delivery model. The ministry conducted over 90 webinars to promote ES and OHS requirements to small business employers and vulnerable workers.

Creating and Maintaining a Stable Labour Relations Environment

In the 2020-21 fiscal year, MLTSD continued to modernize labour relations services to align with the government’s Open for Business and Smart initiatives strategies, by making it easier to access neutral collective bargaining information on Collective Bargaining Ontario.

• In 2020-21, the ministry assisted bargaining parties in response to approximately 1,600 conciliation and 300 mediation files. Of all ratified settlements in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, 99% were achieved without a work disruption. The ministry continues to meet its settlement target rate at or above 95%.

• There was an 84% decrease in the incidence of strikes and lock-outs, and a 98% fall in person-days lost when compared year over year. The relative decrease in 2020-21 was mainly due to the resolution and settlement of work stoppages in the K-12 education sector that occurred in the previous 2019-20 fiscal year.
• Approximately 1,500 collective agreements were ratified in 2020-21, concentrated in the health and social services, construction, other services, education, and public administration.
• The ministry made approximately 400 appointments to arbitrators to settle both grievance and interest arbitration disputes where the parties were unable to agree on their own, of which less than 10% were the result of COVID‑19 related grievances in 2020-2021.
• The ministry provided dispute resolution assistance in response to more than 1,100 new requests for arbitration, while closing or completing more than 3,200 arbitration files. The Collective Bargaining Highlights report was accessed over 2,200 times and the Collective Bargaining Expiries report was accessed over 360 times.
• The ministry promoted the use of one of its Digital First platforms, eRequests, to enable the remote work force to provide seamless service delivery by enabling bargaining parties to apply for conciliation and grievance arbitration services online, instead of through outdated and less accessible methods such as mail and fax. This service is resulting in faster processing for applicants, greater efficiency, and more modern, streamlined services. More than 1,600 applications have been submitted using eRequests in 2020-21, which represents about 70% of the application volumes.

Committing to Being Open for Business

The ministry has continued to review its legislation and regulations to support the Government’s Open for Business Plan, including:

• Amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to repeal section 34 and revoking an associated regulation, which were a notification requirement respecting new biological or chemical agents. This notification requirement pre-dated the federal New Substance Program and the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System, and therefore duplicated these other systems.
• Amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to provide the authority to adopt by reference certain codes, standards, criteria and guides as they may be amended from time to time.
• Amending O. Reg 297/13 (Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) effective January 1, 2021 to recognize fall protection training that meets the requirements under the Newfoundland and Labrador’s Occupational Health and Safety Act as an acceptable alternative to Ontario's approved Working at Heights (WAH) training and to expand existing WAH exemption for auto manufacturers and assemblers to include a few additional workplaces directly owned and operated by an automobile manufacturer or assembler.

The ministry engaged in a number of consultations in 2020-21 which may further support the Government’s Open for Business Plan with regulatory streamlining and harmonization, red tape and burden reduction, including:

• Reviewing the current pre-start health and safety review requirements under the OHSA, also known as pre-start review (PSR) requirements, to ensure that they continue to reflect the realities of today’s workplaces.
• Creating a new regulation under the OHSA that will apply to all workplaces and will streamline reporting requirements for all workplaces for incidents such as fatalities, critical injuries, occupational illnesses as prescribed by the Act that involve a worker. Currently, reporting requirements are prescribed in eight regulations under the OHSA.
• Proposing to transfer the responsibility of workplace first aid from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to the ministry. The proposed modernization presents an opportunity to make first aid requirements easier to understand and comply with. It would also standardize first aid compliance obligations for larger employers who conduct business across Canada.

Acts administered by the Ministry: 2020-21

• Ambulance Services Collective Bargaining Act, 2001
• Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, 1993
• Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, 2009
• Employment Standards Act, 2000
• Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006
• Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, Part IX (Firefighters: Employment and Labour Relations)
• Government Contract Wages Act, 2018
• Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act
• Labour Relations Act, 1995
• Ministry of Labour Act
• Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, in respect of training and skills development
• Modernizing the Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2019
• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Ontario Colleges of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009
• Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, except sections 2 and 3 of Part I as they relate to matters other than immigration training programs and the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, except Part III as it relates to matters other than immigration training programs, and except section 21 of Part IV as it relates to matters other than immigration training programs and the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
• Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009
• Pay Equity Act
• Pay Transparency Act, 2018
• Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015
• Public Sector Dispute Resolution Act, 1997
• Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997
• Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 in respect of sections 21 to 27 and clause 31(1)(b) [only in respect of the Public Service Grievance Board]
• Registered Human Resources Professionals Act, 2013
• Regulatory Modernization Act, 2007
• Rights of Labour Act
• Toronto Transit Commission Labour Disputes Resolution Act, 2011
• Workers Day of Mourning Act, 2016
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

The Ministry of Labour also has responsibilities under the following Act administered by another ministry:

• Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, 2008
  • Administered by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. However, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development has a role in the conciliation process, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board also has functions and responsibilities under this Act.

"Back to work" Acts administered by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development

• Back to Class Act (York University), 2018
• Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Labour Dispute Resolution Act, 2017
• Protecting the School Year Act, 2015