In conjunction with concerns raised by the LDLC Health and Safety Committee, the focus of the following video is n relation to the contravention of the written policy I. It’s current state. Further concerns are raised within the included statements and the Backgrounder for Bill 177 section 30.
Most recently, our 2nd Vice-President, Len Elliot, was privileged to present a formal submission before the Legislature. The video has been included in the link to follow.
Here is his statement:
Today it was my privilege to present to the Finance Committee on Bill 177 Schedule 30 that would see the Deputy Ministry able to write Policy under Law for inspectors to follow circumventing the legislative process! Unacceptable!
Backgrounder;
On November 14, 2017, the Ontario Government introduced Bill 177, the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures) 2017. The ombibus Bill proposes to amend 45 separate statutes. On November 30, 2017, the Bill passed second reading and is now before the standing committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Most notably from the standpoint of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), Schedule 30 of the Bull seems to implement, among other smaller amendments, often discussed and long awaited changes I the allowable maximum fines under the OHSA.
Statement by Adrian Miedema – Canadian Occupational Health and Safety:
Schedule 30 to Bill 177 would also amend the OHSA to impose a requirement on employers who do not own th workplace (such as employers who rent or lease all or part of the building or facility in which the employees work), to notify the Ministry of Labour if the joint health and safety representative has “identified potential structural inadequacies of a building, structure, or any part thereof, or any other part of a workplace, whether temporary or permanent, as a source of danger or hazard to workers”. This provision appears to be in response to the tragic mall collapse in Elliot Lake, Ontario in 2012.
The Bill would also allow the government to make a regulation requiring employers other than constructors or mining companies to notify the MOL if certain events, described in the applicable regulations, take place. In addition, the Bill would allow the government to make regulations that impose expanded accident reporting obligations on all employers under sections 51, 52 and 53 of the OHSA.
Lastly, the Bill gives the Deputy Ministry of Labour authority to “establish written directives for use by inspectors respecting the interpretation, administration and enforcement of this Act and the regulations “ which must be “consistent “ with the OHSA and regulations and which MOL inspectors are required to follow. Interestingly, the Bill would not require employers to comply with those written directives, which would seem to permit employers to legally challenge the correctness of any interpretation set out in a written directive.We will have to wait to see what these written directives will look like.
Given that violations under the OHSA frequently relate to critical injuries or workplace fatalities, some commentators and critics have criticized the current maximum fines as too low to adequately provide a deterrent effect.
Tina Stevens – LDLC Secretary