This announcement was in response to the WSIB Funding Review chaired by Professor Arthurs and its resulting report entitled "Funding Fairness: A Report on Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance System."

As previously reported, the Funding Review was established to consider policy issues relating to the financial future of the WSIB, including a plan on how to eliminate its unfunded liability.

• amendments to s. 50 of the Act that allow an inspector to refer a matter to the Labour Board where the circumstances warrant, and if conditions are met (s. 13, “Referral by inspector”); and
• amendments to s. 50.1 of the Act setting out the functions of the Office of the Worker Advisor and the Office of the Employer Adviser (s. 14), and compellability of persons employed by same (s. 16).

The government has also filed O. Reg. 33/12 prescribing the specific functions of the Offices of the Worker and Employer Advisers for the purposes of Part VI (Reprisals by Employer Prohibited) of the Act. The regulation, which comes into effect April 1, 2012, provides as follows:

• the functions of the Office of the Worker Adviser are to educate, advise and represent non-unionized workers in proceedings before the Board; and
• the functions of the Office of the Employer Adviser are to educate, advise and represent employers that have fewer than 50 employees in proceedings before the Board.

Unless proclaimed earlier, other Bill 160 amendments are expected to come into force on April 1, 2012, including:

• section 4.1, setting out the Powers of the Minister to administer the Act; and
• “Designated Entities” provisions under Part II.1 of the Act (Prevention Council, Chief Prevention Officer and Designated Entities).

Inspectors will visit construction projects employing workers in high-rise formwork, low-rise formwork and masonry, siding and built-up roofing work, and specifically check that:

•   work areas are safe from hazards that cause dangerous slips, trips or falls; and

•   workers are using fall protection systems properly and equipment such as ladders, platforms and scaffolds.

This blitz is in addition to regular inspections already undertaken by the Ministry of Labour.

On January 1, 2012, a free, “voluntary pre-registration” period of one year will commence during which affected employers may register electronically on the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board ("WSIB") website, through the WSIB’s eServices. Premiums will not become due until January 1, 2013.

The pre-registration period will coincide with a year-long education campaign designed to educate construction industry employers about the new mandatory coverage.

More information about mandatory coverage in the construction industry and the pre-registration period is available in an “F.A.Q” information sheet, which has been posted to the WSIB website.

As previously reported, the Bill 160 amendments are intended to respond to the recommendations provided by the Expert Panel on Occupational Health and Safety and significantly amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Bill should be consulted for specific coming into force information.

As previously reported, the proposed Bill 160 amendments are intended to respond to the recommendations provided by the Expert Panel on Occupational Health and Safety and would significantly amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Bill should be consulted for specific coming into force information.

As previously reported, the proposed Bill 160 amendments are intended to respond to the recommendations provided by the Expert Panel on Occupational Health and Safety and would significantly amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Bill should be consulted for specific coming into force information.

• being instructed, trained and supervised on jobs;
• using proper safety measures, equipment and procedures to prevent injuries; and
• meeting minimum age requirements for the work they are doing.

Inspectors will focus on workplaces where youth are employed, including restaurants, nursing homes and low-rise construction sites.

O. Reg. 95/11 will effectively consolidate regulatory requirements relating to confined spaces from various other regulations into the existing Regulation 632/05, including those applicable to industrial establishments, construction projects, healthcare and residential facilities and mines and mining plants.

The amendments to Regulation 632/05 maintain the differences between the confined spaces provisions that apply on construction projects and those that apply to other workplaces.

The amendments to Regulation 632/05 were originally proposed on January 7, 2011.

The proposed Bill 160 amendments, which are intended to respond to the recommendations provided by the Expert Panel on Occupational Health and Safety, would significantly amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), by:

• empowering the Minister of Labour (the “Minister”) to establish standards for training programs and training providers, and collect information and maintain records of workers’ successful completion of approved training programs;
• empowering the Minister to establish training and certification standards for members of joint health and safety committees;
• requiring constructors or employers to provide health and safety representatives with training;
• enabling the co-chair of a joint health and safety committee to make written recommendations to a constructor or employer if the committee fails to reach consensus; and
• authorizing a Director designated under section 6 to establish policies respecting the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the OHSA, and to require an inspector to follow such policies.

Of further note, the Bill would amend section 50 of the OHSA (Reprisals by Employer Prohibited) and empower inspectors to refer an alleged reprisal matter to the Board in certain circumstances.

The panel, chaired by Tony Dean, professor in the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto, made a number of additional recommendations, including the following:

• tracking the performance of workplaces and sectors through enhanced information gathering and sharing methods;
• providing recognition and incentives for high-performing employers;
• increasing stakeholder involvement in the development of regulations;
• providing training to improve foundational knowledge on the rights and responsibilities of workers and supervisors;
• enhanced training and the establishment of minimum standards for high-risk activities such as working at heights in the construction industry;
• increasing penalties where standards for training, supervision and the provision and use of safety equipment are not met;
• targeted outreach to non-English speaking workers;
• increased collaboration and integration between agencies delivering health and safety services; and
• enhancement of enforcement tools for health and safety inspectors.

The government will determine how best to implement the panel's remaining recommendations. 

• O. Reg. 480/10 (Firefighters—Protective Equipment), amending O. Reg. 714/94 in respect of protective garment standards for firefighters performing interior structural fire suppression duties; and
• O. Reg. 479/10 (Designated Substance—Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations), which excludes workers and their employers from O. Reg. 278/05 when the workers are engaged in fire suppression work, rescue and emergency services work or investigation work under the authority of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997. The regulation provides that Regulation 833 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 (Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents) made under the Act applies instead.

The regulations will come into force on January 1, 2011.

• O. Reg. 419/10, amending Table 1 of Regulation 833 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 (Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents); and

• O. Reg. 420/10, amending Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments).

The regulations are now in force.

The interim Work Reintegration policies integrate Early and Safe Return to Work, Re-Employment and Labour Market Re-entry and are to become effective December 1, 2010, during the course of the consultation process. The draft Work Reintegration NEER policy extends the NEER window from three to four years beginning with the 2008 accident year. 

As previously reported, Bill 110 is omnibus legislation that would, if passed, make a number of amendments to various Acts, including several employment-related statutes.

• clarify that in the section 22(1) overtime provision of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the overtime rate is to be calculated based on excess hours in each “work week” as opposed to each “week” (which is likely consistent with current employer practices for overtime calculation);
• change the name of documents now called “material safety data sheets” for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (which are required in workplaces where hazardous substances are present) to “safety data sheets”; and
• amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 to: (a) address when payments for loss of retirement income and compensation for non-economic loss are paid as lump sums or as periodic payments; (b) provide employees with notice and an opportunity to object before the Board gives a worker’s employer a copy of a physician’s report about the worker’s permanent impairment under section 47; and (c) expand the category of persons who are entitled to access to documents when there is an issue in dispute and the worker is deceased.

As announced by the WSIB on the same date, the year-long Funding Review will gather input from experts and stakeholders regarding policy issues relating to the financial future of the WSIB, including a plan on how to eliminate its unfunded liability. 

Also with respect to construction sites, the government had recently announced its intention to increase enforcement of violations and enhance awareness of safety measures to protect workers, as we previously reported.

Both initiatives follow on the heels of a 90-day safety enforcement blitz of more than 2,800 construction sites.

The regulation comes into force July 1, 2010.