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Employment & Labour
There is a growing awareness of mental health issues in the workplace and increasing calls for the government to enact legislation to provide employees with a psychologically safe workplace. One of the most recent developments in this area is a standard prepared by the Canadian Standards Association and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec, which sets out optimistic suggested goals and processes in this regard.
Metron Construction Corporation was recently fined C$200,000 following its guilty plea to a charge of criminal negligence causing death. Metron is the first corporation in Ontario to be convicted of criminal negligence under amendments to the Criminal Code. The penalty imposed on Metron is the highest fine imposed for criminal negligence arising from a workplace accident in Canadian history.
The Canadian Standards Association has issued a new and surprisingly complex standard setting out optimistic goals and processes for achieving "psychological health and safety" in the workplace. Policies, procedures, hazard identification, incident investigation and monitoring activities may be required, in addition to all of the existing steps being taken to develop and manage occupational health and safety systems.
In June 2011 Bill 160 was passed to implement many of the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety. As Bill 160 became law quickly following the panel's report, it left many Ontario employers wondering which recommendations made it into Bill 160, which were left out and what is yet to come. This update looks at the status of occupational health and safety change in Ontario.
Despite the proliferation of occupational health and safety provisions designed to protect against workplace violence, occupational health and safety enforcers have rarely, if ever, prosecuted employers when workers are victims of workplace violence. A recent case from Alberta suggests that this may be about to change.
In a recent case the Ontario Divisional Court upheld an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that all fatal and critical injuries to a person at a workplace must be reported to the Ministry of Labour. The decision has the potential to affect Ontario employers and constructors that are obliged by the Occupational Health and Safety Act to report and preserve the scene of fatal and critical injuries.
