Provincial Health and Safety Compliance Initiatives
What are Provincial Health and Safety Compliance Initiatives?
Generally, each year, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) schedules compliance initiatives in specific sectors focused on specific hazards or topics. View the full 2023-24 Provincial Health and Safety Compliance Initiative Schedule.
The purpose of the compliance initiatives is to protect workers' rights under both the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and enhance employers' awareness of their responsibilities. To support health and safety in the workplace, occupational health and safety inspectors carry out their initiatives to raise awareness of hazards and increase compliance with the OHSA and its regulations.
Checking over the contract
Provincial Health and Safety Compliance Initiatives generally consist of two phases.
Phase 1: In partnership with Ontario’s health and safety associations, the MLITSD focuses on education, outreach, and awareness with the goal to equip workplace parties with knowledge and tools to comply with health and safety requirements and help workplaces prepare.
Phase 2: The MLITSD conducts a focused inspection blitz where occupational health and safety inspectors conduct field visits to check that employers are complying with the OHSA and its regulations, and to raise awareness about specific issues at the workplaces they are visiting. Individual workplaces that will be inspected are not notified in advance.
How Can Your Workplace Prepare?
- Do your due diligence by reviewing the Provincial Health and Safety Compliance Initiative Schedule and information below as well as the OHSA requirements in collaboration with your organization’s management and supervisory teams and Joint Health and Safety Committee or Health and Safety Representatives to confirm compliance.
- Create an action plan to address any compliance gaps identified – assign responsibilities and timelines.
- Update policies, procedures and safe operating procedures as required.
- Communicate and provide training or review on policies, procedures and roles and responsibilities to workplace parties.
Continue to check back regularly for additional information, webinar announcements and resources, and connect with your PSHSA Health and Safety Consultant for support or assistance at any time.
Healthcare Sector
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Prevention Campaign
Phase 1 – Awareness and Compliance Assistance: April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
Phase 2 – Focused Inspections: June 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
MLITSD inspectors will be visiting health and community care workplaces to conduct focused inspections related to prevention of MSD. Watch the free MSD Prevention Campaign recorded webinar to learn more.
Which Healthcare Workplaces is the MLITSD focused on?
- Hospitals
- Group Homes
- Home health care
- Retirement homes
- Long term care homes
The Inspectors may focus and check for hazards related to:
- moving clients, such as performing client lifts or when repositioning clients in bed, toileting, bathing, showering clients and performing other client handling activities,
- responding to circumstances that arise such as client falls, fire alarms, evacuations,
- manually handling materials items and moving objects from one area to another, such as laundry,
- performing heavy housekeeping tasks such as moving furniture.
Related to hazards, inspectors will check:
- Measures and procedures in MSD prevention and client handling.
- Instruction of the workers in the measures and procedures for MSD prevention.
- Availability, suitability, and maintenance of equipment for client handling and manual material handling.
- Incident reporting system in place and employer follow up on incidents.
- Joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or health and safety representative (HSR), functioning and aware of MSD hazards and measures and procedures to control the hazards.
Employers in workplaces under the Health Care and Residential Facilities Regulation must establish written measures and procedures and training and educational programs in consultation with the joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or health and safety representative (HSR).
Workplace resources:
