Category Archives: Legislation

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Human Resources, Legislation

Controversial finance bill could threaten worker safety, say unions

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A number of unions in Ontario are protesting a provincial bill that they claim could have a detrimental effect on occupational health and safety if it passes. While the bill proposes to amend many laws, two middle sections have sparked outrage in Ontario’s labour community.

Tabled by Finance Minister Charles Sousa, Bill 70, or the Building Ontario Up for Everyone Act (Budget Measures), 2016, would implement budget measures in many areas. Schedule 16 of the bill would amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act – affecting Ministry of Labour (MOL) inspections of workplaces, in particular – while Schedule 17 would alter the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act to give the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) power to overrule decisions by the Ontario College of Trades.

The latter schedule sparked a public demonstration in front of the Ontario legislature in Toronto on Nov. 30. This was attended by tradespeople and organizations who felt that the section threatened jobs and workplace safety, by potentially allowing the OLRB to give a pass to unqualified workers to do work that requires certified tradespeople.

“We had 4,500 people on the front lawn,” said John Grimshaw, the executive secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council of Ontario. He added that Schedule 17 had “really upset a lot of people.”

Len Elliott, the regional vice president for southwestern Ontario with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, gave a presentation in the legislature opposing Schedule 16 on Dec. 1. The union has charged that the section will help employers dodge safety inspections; a previous statement from the MOL said that it wanted to “lessen the burden on employers by taking away unnecessary proactive inspections.”

“Unbelievable and unacceptable, in my opinion,” Elliott, an oh&s inspector in London, Ont., said about the MOL’s stance. “I can tell you in the opinion of 400 inspectors, that’s just not acceptable.”

Elliott added that the bill would give Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer unwarranted power to outsource certification and accreditation standards.

“What we think this is doing is going down the path of privatization of our health and safety inspectors,” he explained. “Our inspectors have written thousands of orders in workplaces proactively, and many of those workplaces wouldn’t qualify for accreditation. Because you need an external auditing body called the Ministry of Labour, and that body needs to be public, not private.

“This will result in more injuries and more deaths in workplaces, if you ban inspectors from going into those workplaces proactively.”

A statement from the office of Labour Minister Kevin Flynn denied that the accreditation standard proposed by Schedule 16 would result in fewer inspections.

“Proactive health and safety inspections have been an important element of the Ministry’s health and safety enforcement and will continue to be,” the statement read. “It is the intent of the Ministry to consult extensively with labour and employer stakeholders on… standards for accreditation, as well as implementation.”

Regarding Schedule 17, Flynn’s office added that the proposed amendments would enhance worker protections that were already in place. “They will also help expand consumer protection by ensuring that all work is done to the highest standards. The jobs that need to be done by trained, skilled workers will still be done by trained, skilled workers,” it said.

Grimshaw charged that Schedule 17 would allow untrained workers to do potentially dangerous work, with uninformed OLRB bureaucrats making appeal decisions when safety incidents arise.

“The bottom line is that any system is only as good as its weakest link,” Grimshaw explained. “The most insurance you’re going to get to make a system safe is to make sure that the people who installed it are properly trained.”

He added that sloppy electrical work that passes muster by OLRB standards could result in a worker’s electrocution years later. “You can have inspectors go around and check it, but inspectors aren’t going to start tearing walls apart looking to see if you did something right or not. It just doesn’t work that way,” he said. “There are all kinds of things that we learn, but the average everyday person wouldn’t.”

Elliott expressed skepticism when asked if the widespread protest against Bill 70 had gotten the message across. “They’re probably not going to change things, because they’re a Liberal majority government that clearly doesn’t understand health and safety in our province,” he said.

Grimshaw was equally skeptical. “This government isn’t really good at listening lately,” he said.

Bill 70 is scheduled for ratification by Dec. 8, when the legislature breaks for the holiday season.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Legislation, Occupational Hygiene

United Steelworkers to display scarves in support of anti-harassment law

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TORONTO, Ont. – A one-day art installation at the University of Toronto (U of T) will show support for Ontario’s recently adopted law against workplace sexual harassment, by displaying scarves knitted and crocheted by members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1998. According to a USW press release, the installation, called STEELwool, is taking place on Dec. 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the university’s campuses in Scarborough, Mississauga and downtown Toronto; one hundred and thirty-two scarves will hang from trees, benches and display boards to commemorate Bill 132, or the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), which passed into law on Sept. 8 (COHSN, Sept. 13). The union will donate the scarves to various charities in the Toronto area after the installation, the release added. “The project theme is warming all people of any gender, race, age, sexual orientation and ability across U of T,” Local 1998 president Colleen Burke said in a media statement. “It was developed and organized by the USW Local 1998 Human Rights Committee.” Local 1998 represents more than 8,000 administrative and technical employees at U of T.

Compliance & Enforcement, Hazmat, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation

New bill would ban all asbestos manufacturing in Canada

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FEDERAL – A private member’s bill that aims to stop all importing, exporting and manufacturing of asbestos is receiving public support from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). Sheri Benson, the NDP MP for Saskatoon West, introduced the proposed asbestos ban in the House of Commons on Nov. 16. Bill C-321, or An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (prohibition of asbestos), would “prohibit the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of certain toxic substances that cause significant danger to the environment or to human life or health.” CLC president Hassan Yussuff praised the move, claiming that a comprehensive asbestos ban would save lives. “This is about making public spaces and workplaces safer for all Canadians, and there is no need to delay any longer,” Yussuff said in a press statement. PSAC national president Robyn Benson said in her own statement that the bill was a crucial first step to banning the mineral completely. “Members of Parliament now have an opportunity to stop the epidemic that is killing Canadians by supporting this legislation,” she added. About 2,000 Canadians die from asbestos-related diseases every year, according to the CLC.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Human Resources, Legislation, productivity

Alberta introduces bill against workplace bullying, harassment

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Alberta employers may have a tougher time getting away with bullying and harassment from now on, as the provincial legislature has just proposed a law that would make harassment policies mandatory for workplaces.

Craig Coolahan, the MLA for Calgary-Klein, tabled a private member’s bill in the legislature in Edmonton on Nov. 9. The Occupational Health and Safety (Protection from Workplace Harassment) Amendment Act, 2016 passed its first reading and is moving on to its second.

“Currently, there is no legislation that recognizes bullying or psychological harassment in the workplace,” Coolahan wrote in an op-ed column submitted to various media outlets, including COHSN. “We can do better. Albertans deserve a workplace that is safe from both physical harm and the psychological and emotional damage that workplace harassment inflicts.”

If the bill passes, every Alberta employer will have to establish a workplace harassment policy and investigate all harassment complaints. If an employee is not satisfied with the resolution of a complaint, he or she will be able to file another complaint with a government occupational health and safety officer, who may mediate a resolution if the matter appears to have merit. An unsuccessful mediation could potentially result in “corrective action” against the accused perpetrator.

“In consultations with Alberta businesses of all sizes, individual victims, labour organizations and pertinent non-profit and professional organizations,” wrote Coolahan, “there is clear support for providing all Albertans with a safe, harassment-free work environment.”

One of the bill’s vocal supporters is Linda Crockett, a social worker and the founder and executive director of the Alberta Bullying Research, Resources & Recovery Centre in Edmonton.

“I am extremely excited to see this happen. I thought we were going to be waiting a few years before we saw it,” said Crockett. “All those people out there that are suffering, either just beginning that process or suffering in isolation, I see hope for them now.”

Coolahan cited a recent study revealing that 60 per cent of Alberta workers had experienced workplace harassment, while half of the victims of bullying or harassment would not report it. Of the ones who had sought help from their employers’ human-resources departments, 62 per cent said that the companies had taken no action.

If Coolahan’s bill becomes law, “employers are going to be accountable,” said Crockett. “If there is a policy that exists, they’re going to update it; they’re going to make it current. If there isn’t a policy, they’re going to be held accountable to create a policy. And then they’re going to be accountable to follow through on it.”

Only about 70 per cent of Alberta workplaces have harassment policies in place, according to recent information from the Human Resources Institute of Alberta. The policies that do exist are inconsistent, tending to vary from employer to employer.

Crockett explained that workplace bullying is usually an insidious type of psychological abuse that happens behind closed doors. “The tactics are quite subtle, passive-aggressive,” she said. So many perpetrators never face any consequences for their behaviour; indeed, many get promoted or transferred to other locations where they continue to bully employees.

“The process doesn’t work,” said Crockett. “There’s a breakdown in the system of complaint and policy.”

She added that Alberta also needed more education and training on workplace harassment by “qualified anti-bullying specialists,” as well as resources both for victims and for those who act out.

“Most people in the workplace don’t realize that they are being bullied until at least a year after, or until they become quite ill, and that’s when they finally reach out for help,” she said.

Coolahan clarified that the bill was intended to be preventative rather than punitive. “It’s about protecting all Albertans. It’s about ensuring that all employers and employees are familiar with what harassment is and what it is not, through the use of a robust harassment policy and training,” he said.

“I’m thrilled to be able to listen to Albertans and support them with this important legislation.”

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation, Workers Compensation

Unions rally for changes in N.S. law regarding PTSD

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HALIFAX, N.S. – Two unions demonstrated behind Province House in Halifax on the afternoon of Nov. 10 to express support for a provincial bill that would allow automatic workers’ compensation coverage for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A press release from the National Union of Public and General Employees stated that its Nova Scotia affiliate, the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees’ Union (NSGEU), was collaborating with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO) in the rally. The bill, which the NDP tabled in the N.S. legislature on Oct. 14, would allow presumptive workers’ comp coverage for first responders, correctional officers, nurses, social workers and several other types of professionals who are diagnosed with PTSD. “Despite mounting evidence of the lasting impact of PTSD and the need for timely treatment, the Nova Scotia government has not moved on the issue,” the NSGEU stated in the release, calling the passing of presumptive legislation “long overdue.” The UCCO had previously demonstrated at the New Brunswick legislature on Nov. 8 to raise awareness of PTSD as an occupational illness and the need for presumptive legislation, according to a separate release from the union.

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation, Workers Compensation

Saskatchewan introduces bill to make PTSD a presumptive work disease

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REGINA, Sask. – The Saskatchewan government is following the leads of Ontario and Manitoba by proposing a law to make psychological injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), presumptively work-related – meaning that a worker diagnosed with a condition does not have to prove that his or her job caused it when applying for benefits from the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB). According to a news release from the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, the Ministry introduced an amendment to the province’s Workers’ Compensation Act making PTSD and similar conditions presumptively occupational on Oct. 25. The government expects to pass the bill into law as soon as possible, the release added. “We know the stigma attached to psychological injuries and illnesses often prevents people from getting help,” Don Morgan, the province’s Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister, said in a press statement. “By reducing barriers, our hope is that more people feel confident seeking support, including applying for benefits from the WCB.” Ontario passed a law making PTSD presumptive for first responders earlier this year (COHSN, April 12), after Manitoba had passed similar legislation for all occupations (COHSN, Jan. 5).

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation, Workers Compensation

Government committee calls for research on PTSD in first responders

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A committee of Members of Parliament (MP) is lobbying for the federal government to develop a national strategy to help first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other operational stress injuries. In particular, the group has recommended setting up a new research centre devoted to the workers’ mental health.

Chaired by Rob Oliphant, Liberal MP for the Don Valley West riding in Toronto, the committee published a 50-page report detailing its own research and recommendations on Oct. 4. The report, titled Healthy Minds, Safe Communities: Supporting Our Public Safety Officers through a National Strategy for Operational Stress Injuries, suggested a research institute for PTSD in firefighters, police officers, paramedics, correctional officers and similar professions.

“If we don’t have healthy first responders and public-safety officers, we won’t have safe communities,” Oliphant told COHSN. “Our safety and security, in a variety of ways, is dependent upon those who help us being healthy and well.”

The committee began its study after conducting a survey and realizing that there was not a lot of concrete data on the subject, in spite of the wide range of anecdotal narratives and therapy available, he explained.

“We don’t know enough. We don’t have best practices being shared. We don’t have international experience being translated into Canada well enough.”

The kind of research centre that the committee has in mind would be modelled off the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., but for first responders rather than military personnel.

“What we heard in our testimony was that with soldiers, sailors and air-force members,” said Oliphant, “they could be in war, in theatre, and then come out for two weeks or three weeks, or two years, go back in, whereas police officers or EMS or corrections officers, every day, it is a cumulative effect. There could be nothing one day, and three days in a row, a tragic incident, and then nothing.”

This is why research is required into the cumulative effect of an ongoing, steady stream of tragedy, he said. The proposed institute would ideally collect data to study the prevalence of operational stress injuries, as well as establish an expert working group to collaborate with the government to come up with a response for employees who suffer from these conditions.

At the moment, supports for first responders and public-safety officers with PTSD are limited and tend to vary. Medical treatments and employee-assistance plans are available for some. VIA Rail, Oliphant noted, has processes for employees who witness traumatic events like train accidents with pedestrians.

“What’s good about that is, it reduces stigma,” he said. “They have an assumption after a traumatic event that they have work to do to make sure something doesn’t go wrong. We don’t have that at the same level in our federal employees.”

This year, the Ontario government enacted legislation that made PTSD a presumptively occupational disease for first responders, meaning that those diagnosed do not have to prove that work caused the condition to get workers’ comp (COHSN, April 12). But Oliphant’s group has stopped short of demanding a similar federal law.

“What we want is an investigation into presumptive legislation,” said Oliphant.

“Our committee was really very favourably predisposed to it,” he added, “but we just don’t have the evidence on it. We don’t want to be knee-jerk.”

Healthy Minds, Safe Communities is available online at http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/421/SECU/Reports/RP8457704/421_SECU_Rpt05_PDF/421_SECU_Rpt05-e.pdf.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation, Occupational Hygiene

New anti-harassment laws go into effect for Ontario workplaces

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TORONTO, Ont. – The Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), or Bill 132, officially went into effect in Ontario on Sept. 8. According to a backgrounder from the provincial Women’s Directorate, the new law includes amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act designed to keep workplaces free from sexual harassment and to improve supports for complainants. Under Bill 132, every workplace harassment program must set out how to maintain confidentiality during harassment investigations and who will conduct an investigation if the accused is an employer or supervisor, and written results of the probe must be given to both the complainant and the accused. In addition, every employer must ensure that appropriate investigations into complaints are carried out, that both the complainant and the accused receive written results of an investigation and any corrective action and that the program is reviewed at least once a year. The new law also revises the Act’s definition of workplace sexual harassment and gives inspectors the authority to order an employer to engage an impartial person to investigate a harassment complaint, the Directorate stated. “We know Ontarians want to respond to sexual violence and harassment when they see it,” said Tracy MacCharles, the province’s Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues, in a press statement.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation

Safety association wants feds to ban pot use in oil and gas sector

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FEDERAL – As the federal government moves forward with pot legalization, the national safety association for the upstream oil and gas sector is demanding continued prohibition of marijuana use among employees in the industry, citing the drug as a workplace hazard. In a letter to the Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat, dated Aug. 29, Calgary-based Enform claimed that alcohol and drugs had been “a pressing safety concern” for the organization over the previous decade. “An upstream petroleum worker’s use of drugs… has the potential to create unacceptable safety risks,” Enform president and CEO Cameron MacGillivray wrote in the letter. “Given the carry-over effects of drugs, including marijuana, these risks can occur regardless of whether use occurs at work or in close temporal proximity to when an employee will report to work.” MacGillivray added that pot legalization would have a negative effect on workplace safety in oil and gas, while suggesting that any new legislation on marijuana “must address the obligations of employers to maintain a safe work environment and the workplace safety risks associated with marijuana use and abuse.” The Liberal Party stated in its election platform last year that it would commit to legalizing and regulating the drug.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Human Resources, Legislation, Transportation

Feds order Brinks to change routine for armoured-car guards

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The federal labour ministry has issued a directive to the Edmonton branch of Brinks Canada Limited, a nationwide company that transports cash and other valuable goods, to alter its practice of having both the guard and driver of an armoured car exit the vehicle at pickups and drop-offs.

The routine, known as the “All off” model, is widely considered dangerous to armoured-car staff, as it increases the risk of assault during robbery attempts.

“The model does not provide the employees with any information of suspicious persons or activities occurring outside while they are inside the customer’s location,” wrote Jason Elliott, the author of the directive. “As a result, the employees have a diminished ability to avoid a potential ambush upon returning to the armoured vehicle.”

In an e-mailed response, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) declined to discuss any specifics of the directive, as well as the Ministry of Labour investigation that led to it.

“The Labour Program believes every employee has the right to a safe workplace and to return home safely at the end of their work day,” said ESDC. “The Canada Labour Code requires employers to implement preventive measures to ensure employees are not exposed to conditions that could be harmful to their health or safety.”

Brinks’ Edmonton location did not respond to COHSN’s request for comment. Media reports have stated that the company is appealing the order.

Unifor, the union that represents armoured-car guards across the country among many other workers, welcomed the government order as a “life-saving” move in an Aug. 22 press release.

“This is a tremendous step forward for the safety of all armoured-car workers,” Unifor national staff representative Mike Armstrong, who leads the union on armoured-car-industry matters, said in a media statement. “We now look to the entire industry to eliminate the unnecessary danger associated with ‘All off’ crews.”

Armstrong added that Unifor was looking forward to working with its industry partners in implementing new safety protocols for armoured-car guards. “These employees face potential danger on every shift,” he said.

The directive comes in the wake of a fatal robbery attempt that occurred in Edmonton on July 8, when two men pepper-sprayed the guards of a Garda World Security armoured truck while demanding cash at a TD Canada Trust branch. One of the would-be robbers, Randy James Munian, was shot and killed by one of the two guards. The second suspect escaped and is yet to be apprehended.

After the Garda incident, Unifor publicly urged the federal government to pass Bill C-285, a private member’s bill that would regulate crew sizes, vehicle specifications, safety equipment and other safety and training standards in the armoured-car sector (COHSN, July 12). The bill was tabled by Burnaby-New Westminster, B.C. MP Peter Julian.

There have been 85 armoured-car robberies in Canada since 2000, according to statistics from Unifor; five fatalities have resulted from these incidents. Over the past three years, every armoured-car robbery that has been publicly reported involved a vehicle crew of only two people.

The Ministry reportedly launched the Brinks investigation when an armoured-car guard in Edmonton refused to work after he was assigned to a two-guard vehicle.

“The investigation is ongoing,” said ESDC about the Brinks situation.