Ontario OHS Consolidated Edition 2021

2-5 Business Days

• COVID-19 Impact – a discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workplaces with respect to occupational health and safety.
• OH&S Inspectors – an update on increased number of OH&S inspectors, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training Regulation – as of January 1, 2021, amendments were made to O. Reg. 297/13 to recognize alternative fall protection training to boost labour mobility by recognizing training provided in Newfoundland and Labrador and expand an existing exemption for automotive manufacturers and assemblers to remove the need for duplicate training. An amendment was also made to the Regulation to extend the validity period (to four years, from three) of Working at Heights Training. This change came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents – as of July 1, 2020, O. Reg. 833 was amended to reflect the adoption of new or revised occupational exposure limits (OELs) or listings for 36 chemical substances based on recommendations by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).
• Enabling the Lieutenant Governor in Council to Make Regulations – as of July 21, 2020, subsection 70(3) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act was added to allow rolling incorporation by reference and requiring compliance with a code or standard in paragraph 25 of subsection (2) and to adopt by reference any criteria or guide in relation to the exposure of a worker to any biological, chemical or physical agent or combination thereof in paragraph 26 of subsection (2) and clarifying that this includes the power to adopt a code, standard, criteria or guide as it may be amended from time to time.
• The commentary has been reviewed, updated and enhanced for the 2021 Edition, including a revised Regulatory Update and Compliance section, OH&S Workplace Inspection Initiatives and Reports, Ticketable Offences and Set Fines, Accident/Incident Reporting, Effective Workplace Inspections, Emergency Procedures, Posting Requirements, Due Diligence Checklist, OH&S Organizations and Resources. The Index and the Table of Contents have been updated and revised.