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This video will help in understanding why trainings related to health and safety are important for any employee before starting the work.

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Safety Tips: What health and safety training is required for Ontario workers?

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Legal requirements for health and safety 

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Legal requirements for health and safety 

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This video helps in understanding legal requirements of any organisation related to risk management

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What Are the Legal Requirements For Health and Safety in the Workplace?

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This video helps in understanding how to enforce safety at workplace with your employees

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Berg Compliance Solutions - Russell Carr

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1. This webpage highlights how crucial it is to make sure employees are aware of the risks associated with the items they handle, know how to take precautions and know what to do in an emergency.

2. Employers and employees can use this publication as a thorough guide to ensure WHMIS compliance and advance workplace safety.

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CCOHS: Canada's National Centre for Occupational Health and Safety information

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This website will help you to understand Health and safety legislation in Canada.

Below are the key highlights that you will find on this page:

What occupational health and safety agency covers my workplace?

Where can I find out about my duties in Canadian legislation?

Who is covered under the jurisdiction of the federal government in Canada? ,Etc

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What occupational health and safety agency covers my workplace?
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There are fourteen jurisdictions in Canada - one federal, ten provincial and three territorial each having its own occupational health and safety legislation. For most people in Canada, the agency that you would contact is the provincial or territorial agency in the area where you work. There one exception - Federal legislation covers employees of the federal government including Crown agencies and corporations across Canada, regardless of location.

Where can I find out about my duties in Canadian legislation?
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Occupational health and safety (OH&S) legislation in each jurisdiction outlines the general rights and responsibilities of the employer, the supervisor and the worker through an Act or statute and related regulations. Regulations made under an Act define the application and enforcement of an Act. Each of the ten provinces, three territories and the federal government has its own OH&S legislation.

There is special "right-to-know" legislation that applies to hazardous products. It comprises a series of complimentary federal, provincial and territorial laws and regulations collectively called WHMIS - the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. It is a comprehensive plan for providing information on hazardous products intended for use in workplaces. WHMIS applies in all Canadian workplaces which are covered by occupational health and safety legislation and where WHMIS regulated hazardous products are used.

Who is covered under the jurisdiction of the federal government in Canada?
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The federal health and safety legislation is commonly referred to as Canada Labour Code Part II and regulations under the Code. These laws apply to federal departments and federal crown corporations. The Canada Labour Code also applies to employees of companies or sectors that operate across provincial or international borders. These businesses include:

airports and airlines

banks, including authorized foreign banks

exploration and development of petroleum on lands subject to federal jurisdiction

ferries, port services, marine shipping, tunnels, canals, bridges, and pipelines (oil and gas)

grain elevators, feed and seed mills, feed warehouses, and grain seed cleaning plants;

road transportation services, including trucks and buses

many First Nations activities

pipelines

radio and television broadcasting

telecommunications, such as telephone, internet, telegraph and cable systems

railways

shipping and shipping services

telephone and telegraph systems

uranium mining and processing

Approximately 6% of the Canadian workforce falls under the OH&S jurisdiction of the federal government. The remaining 94% of Canadian workers fall under the legislation of the province or territory where they work.

Who is covered by provincial and territorial jurisdictions?
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In each province or territory, there is an act (typically called the Occupational Health and Safety Act or something similar) which applies to most workplaces in that region. The Act usually applies to all workplaces except private homes where work is done by the owner, occupant, or servants. Generally, it does not apply to farming operations unless made to do so by a specific regulation. The jurisdiction and its' legislation should be consulted to find out who is or is not covered.

At the provincial and territorial level, the name of the government department responsible for OH&S varies with each jurisdiction. Usually it is called a ministry or department of labour, or the department is given a common name, such as "WorkSafe". In some jurisdictions, it is a workers' compensation board or commission that has the responsibility for occupational health and safety. Each provincial or territorial department is responsible for the administration and enforcement of its occupational health and safety act and regulations. A list of Canadian government departments with chief responsibility for occupational health and safety is available.

Which laws should be followed if the same company has workplaces in different jurisdictions in Canada?
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If the same company has workplaces located in various jurisdictions in Canada, the laws of each jurisdiction must be followed for each location. For example, if a company operates a warehouse located in each of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, each warehouse would be required to follow the requirements of the province where the warehouse is located.

As described above, the Canadian federal laws only apply to specific types of workplaces and industries. This application is unlike other countries, such as the United States of America, where federal OHS laws set a minimum requirement, and individual state laws may be in place, as long as the state laws exceed the federal minimum requirements.

However, note that in Canada many elements (e.g., rights and responsibilities of workers, responsibilities of employers, supervisors, etc.) are similar in all the jurisdictions. A company that has workplaces in multiple jurisdictions is free to develop policies and programs that will apply equally in each location, as long as those policies and programs meet or exceed the requirements outlined for each jurisdiction.

Please see the following OSH Answers for more information:

Fact sheet last revised: 2022-02-28

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fiches techniques sur la sécurité des substances

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environmental health and safety legislation

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Health and Safety Legislation in Canada - Introduction

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What occupational health and safety agency covers my workplace? There are fourteen jurisdictions in Canada - one federal, ten provincial and three territorial each having its own occupational health and safety legislation.

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This is the correct posture(deadlift position) for lifting boxes. It can prevent injury to knees and mainly to the back.

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1. The article presents the idea of the "hierarchy of controls" which the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states is a basic technique for worker protection.

2. The goal of this article is to teach workers how to protect themselves against illnesses and injuries at work.

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In busy workplaces like warehouses, factories, construction sites, and hospitals, employees can be put at risk for injury or illness just by doing their jobs. You might strain your back lifting heavy boxes, injure your lungs with exposure to toxic chemicals used in industrial cleaning, or develop a repetitive motion injury to your arm or wrist by working on the same assembly line for hours at a time.

"Workplace injuries can be either acute or chronic," says Carisa Harris-Adamson, PhD, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences and deputy director of the Center of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. "Acute injuries are from some sort of accident or sudden exposure, which we try to prevent through good safety measures. Chronic injuries result from cumulative exposures, which happen over time when the demands of a task you have to do over and over again ultimately put too much strain on your body."

How can you protect yourself from injuries caused by your job? Every job has its own unique risks, experts say, but there are basic principles that can help keep you safe in any job. It's called a "hierarchy of controls," and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says it is the "fundamental method of protecting workers."

"Employers and employees are both responsible for worker health and safety," says Martin Cohen, ScD, a teaching professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health. "The employer is responsible for providing a healthy and safe workplace, and the employee needs to take that seriously, understand the hazards they are exposed to, and work with their employer to minimize those hazards."

The hierarchy of controls starts with the most effective and protective methods at the top, working down to the ones that are less effective at the bottom. What should you ask for to keep yourself safe at your job?

Elimination. If there's a way to eliminate the hazard, that's the best way to ensure workplace safety. For example, if you work on a building construction site, are there jobs people are doing nine stories above ground that could actually be done on the ground, eliminating the risk of a fall?

Substitution. The next best thing to elimination, substitution means switching out the dangerous situation for something less dangerous. That could mean replacing a toxic chemical with a less toxic one, like paints that are "low VOC," meaning they contain very low or no volatile organic compounds that can be hazardous to your health.

Engineering controls. If you can't eliminate the hazard or substitute something else, can you redesign the way the job works to lessen that hazard? If you're working at heights, that can mean installing guard rails and covering holes. If you're exposed to dust and fine particles from construction or cutting marble countertops, adding ventilation fans and ducting can help.

"Many workplace injuries are the result of repetitive motion," Cohen says. "People performing the same task over and over again can develop chronic pain and musculoskeletal damage. To prevent this, redesign of the job may help, by changing how a workstation is set up or how the flow of a task works."

Administrative controls. If the other solutions don't completely address the problem, administrative controls should also be put in place, like warning labels on dangerous machine parts, reducing the time a worker is exposed to a dangerous situation through things like regular breaks and job sharing, and providing training programs on how to safely operate machinery or lift heavy materials.

Personal protective equipment (PPE). You should always use PPE if any hazard is present. This can include respirators to lessen breathing in particulates and gases, ear protection when you are exposed to loud noises, and fall arrest systems if you're working high in the air.

"Ideally, the different controls should all work together to help make a workplace as safe as possible," Cohen says. "As an example, think of a worker who uses a loud circular saw all day. You can substitute a quieter saw if possible. You can put the worker in a soundproof area to control others' exposure. You can adopt breaks so that the worker isn't constantly exposed to the noise. And then, of course, the worker still needs ear protection."

"While there are tricks and habits you can incorporate into your day to prevent injury, such as stabilizing your core, maintaining good posture, and holding heavy items close to your body so that you don't hurt your back when lifting, the most important thing is to minimize workers' exposure to risks as much as possible," Harris-Adamson agrees.

Other tips for staying safe at work include:

Don't guess. If you don't know how to do a particular task, or how to operate a piece of equipment, make sure you get the right training first.

Keep it clean. Keeping your workspace neat, tidy, and free of clutter and spills makes falls and other injuries less likely.

Report immediately. If you see a dangerous situation, such as a defective piece of equipment, or you have a "near miss," where an accident is narrowly avoided, let your employer know right away.

Be prepared. Be sure you're familiar with things like emergency exits and locations of first-aid kits and eyewash stations, and know your workplace's policies for what to do in emergencies.

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Workplace health and safety should be expected. Find out how to avoid workplace injuries and to ensure safety on the job.

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wrong posture for lifting heavy boxes. It can harm this person's back.

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Essential safety rules to keep in mind while working at high-risk areas.