What is Bill 160 ?
Bill 160, is a new Ontario Provincial legislation that received Royal Assent on June 1, 201. The Bill amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Workplace Safety Insurance Act, 1997.
The new framework transfers the prevention responsibility from the Workplace Safety Insurance Board to the Ministry of Labour with the new Chief Prevention Officer position.
What are the new functions and responsibilities by the Ministry of Labour ?
As a result of the new transfer of responsibility, the following is a list of changes:
- Transfer responsibility for prevention from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to the minister of labour.
- Appoint a new chief prevention officer responsible for developing a province-wide workplace health and safety strategy that aligns all prevention system partners.
- Transfer oversight of Health & Safety Ontario to the chief prevention officer.
- Establish a new prevention council that will advise the chief prevention officer and the ministry with respect to setting strategic priorities and measuring system progress, and engage worker, employer and other stakeholders in the priority-setting process.
- Assign the minister authority to establish standards for health and safety training.
- Improve worker protection against reprisals for exercising their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Expand Ministry of Labour involvement in education and promotion.
What does this mean to your organization ?
- Understanding the new powers and functions of the MOL.
- Understanding the legislative changes and the impact to the organization (e.g. prevention, training).
- Understanding the responsibilities of the employer, supervisor / manager, employee and joint health and safety committees.
At Auspice Safety Inc. we look forward to assisting your organization with the understanding of Bill 160 and the impact to your organization. For a consultation, please contact us at 613.558.5385 or info@auspicesafety.com.