Notice change under the Occupational Health and Safety Act

We welcome this opportunity to provide feedback on proposed amendments to the existing reporting requirements for employers under sections 51 and 52 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (hereafter referred to as “OHSA”). These changes would affect the written reporting requirements outlined in sections 5 and 6 of O. Reg. 67/93 – Health Care and Residential Facilities, which directly impact OCHU/CUPE members. The Ministry is proposing to streamline the current reporting provisions in eight different OHSA regulations into one single regulation which would apply to all workplaces that are covered under the OHSA. We have not yet seen a draft version of the regulation, but the consultation notice posted on December 18, 2020 outlines that the proposed regulation would set out what information must be reported by all employers covered by the OHSA when giving a notice under ss. 51 or 52. Our comments below are limited to that consultation notice, and we look forward to providing feedback on the proposed regulation when it is drafted.