In the News

Print this article 

Corporations given legal duty for employee safety

In a major expansion of corporate liability law, companies, and a wide range of company representatives, could soon be held accountable for criminal offences connected to workplace safety.

Under Bill C-45, failing to take reasonable measures to protect employee and public safety would result in criminal negligence charges against employers and those who undertake, or have the authority to direct how others work or perform tasks.

"Employers must fully recognize their responsibility in providing a safe work environment," the Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, said in a June media release. "Failure to do so in a manner that endangers employee and public safety must be appropriately dealt with through our criminal laws. I am pleased to introduce measures today that will effectively modernize the law on corporate liability."

The measures, introduced in June, build on recent reforms to Part II of the Canada Labour Code, which protects workers against workplace hazards. The proposals were prompted by a review of the Westray mine disaster in Nova Scotia, which killed 26 miners in 1992.

The Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) has created potential scenarios to demonstrate the implications for private and public corporations. One example is based on the real-life deaths of two youths at a manufacturing warehouse during a "Take Our Kids to Work" day in 2000. The youths were unsupervised and had unauthorized access to a vehicle. They lost their lives after crashing the vehicle. If the proposed Bill C-45 had been in effect at that time, the firm and its "representatives" and/or its "senior officers" would have most likely been charged with criminal negligence for endangering the public. The firm would have likely been fined and the representatives might have received jail sentences and/or fines under the Criminal Code.

According to the proposed legislation: "[E]very one who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task." Firms may also be charged under health and safety statutes and regulations in addition to the Criminal Code.

The proposed measures would make corporations criminally liable:

• As a result of the actions of officers who oversee day-to-day operations but who may not be directors or executives
• When officers with executive or operational authority intentionally commit, or direct employees to commit, crimes to benefit the corporation
• When officers with executive or operational authority become aware of offences being committed by other employees but do not take action to stop them
• When the actions of those with authority and other employees, taken as a whole, demonstrate a lack of care that constitutes criminal negligence

The proposed legislation also boosts penalties for offences and asks the courts to consider previous convictions during sentencing. The fine for a summary conviction jumps to $100,000 from $25,000. Fines of up to $1,000,000 are provided for breach of the Canada Labour Code. There is no ceiling for fines on indictable or more serious offences.

Hazard Alerts

Print this article 

Carbon Monoxide poisoning

Prevention and information are the watchwords this month as governments attempt to save lives with hazard alerts and safety bulletins. In Ontario, the focus is on carbon monoxide poisoning from propane-powered floor burnishers.

A number of incidents, coincidentally affecting workers in retail environments, have brought a new warning from the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The incidents included a burnisher operator who lost consciousness while cleaning the floor of a retail store, as well as employees of a different store who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning when they started their shift after the floors had been burnished.

Odourless, tasteless carbon monoxide builds up in poorly ventilated areas and propane-powered floor burnishers, used to polish vinyl and terrazzo floors in stores, offices and health facilities, can be a major source. These burnishers can emit carbon monoxide levels well in excess of 20,000 parts per million (ppm). Exposure to this toxic gas at very high concentrations (more than 4,000 ppm) can result in coma or death.

The ministry suggests replacing propane-powered burnishers with electric or battery-powered models.

If propane-powered burnishers are used:

• The burnishers must be operated in accordance with manufacturers' instructions and only in well-ventilated areas 
• Burnishers should be regularly maintained by a competent person. Engine tuning and measuring carbon monoxide in exhaust gases shall be included in routine maintenance. Adjustments to the fuel system or carburetion of a propane engine should be done by a competent person, according to the manufacturers' instructions. 
• Continuous carbon monoxide monitors should be used in the area where the burnishing is being performed. The monitors should be equipped with audible and visual alarms and the alarms should be set to activate at carbon monoxide levels below the current occupational exposure limit. 
• Ensure workers are trained in reading the device and what to do when alarms are activated

The warning signs of carbon monoxide exposure - headache, faintness, dizziness, confusion, nausea, and irregular heartbeat - should never be ignored when working where fuel-burning equipment is being, or has been used.

The Ministry reminds employers and contractors that, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act , constructors, employers, and supervisors are required to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.

The Occupational Exposure Limits for carbon monoxide are:

• TWAEV (Time Weighted Average Exposure Value): 35 ppm. The TWAEV is based on an eight-hour workday, or forty-hour workweek
• STEV (Short Term Exposure Value) of 400 ppm. The STEV is based on any fifteen-minute period.

OSH Answers

Print this article 

Facing workplace hazards with the right equipment

If health care workers require the use of a respirator, then a respiratory protection program is necessary. The program should include procedures for:

• Selection and use of respirators
• Respirator user training
• Respirator face fitting
• Inspecting, cleaning, maintaining and storing respirators

The focus on respirators follows the SARS outbreak in Toronto, in which a number of health care workers fell victim to the respiratory syndrome. It also reinforced the fact that surgical masks - a common piece of personal protective equipment - are not respirators. The filter material of surgical masks does not retain or filter sub-micron particles. Masks are not designed to eliminate air leakage either.

Health Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend N95 type respirators for workers dealing with patients with infections that are transmitted by inhaling airborne droplets. High-risk procedures such as bronchoscopy and autopsy require even stronger protection.

CCOHS' extensive website collection of information about respirators and personal protection is available through the following links:

Partner News

Print this article 

A safety website for Spanish-speaking workers

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has long served the public and health and safety community in both official languages.

Now, in an effort to further broaden access to workplace health and safety information, CCOHS has made key information services available in Spanish with the launch of a new Spanish-language website. It is hoped that resource sharing and access to credible information will contribute to the improvement of the working conditions, health and well being of workers in the Spanish-speaking Americas.

The Spanish site provides a free web-based service - (Respuestas OSH/OSH Answers) on health and safety related topics, allowing Spanish-speaking workers, managers, and health and safety committee members to obtain answers in their own language.

The website also provides subscription access to a Spanish version of The Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS®) Database, the primary reference used throughout the world for assessing chemical risks. RTECS® is produced by MDL Information Systems, Inc. CCOHS produced the Spanish language version of RTECS®.

Once again, CCOHS has partnered with key organizations to extend access to occupational health and safety information. The Spanish website is no different. It is the result of a collaborative effort between The Pan American Health Organization Regional Office of the World Health Organization, Human Resources Development Canada and CCOHS.

The site now grows the CCOHS family of sites to three - in English, in French and in Spanish. All three feature CCOHS' easy-to-use navigation, friendly, graphical design and credible, current information.

CCOHS News

Print this article 

Legislation tracking made easy

Health, safety and environment professionals are getting help to track legislation changes across the country with a new e-mail service from CCOHS.

Electronic versions of our Legislation Monthly Report are available free of charge to subscribers to the CCOHS Canadian enviroOSH Legislation PLUS Standards service. The e-mail service is designed to help clients track changes to environmental, health and safety legislation that either exist or will be added to the Legislation PLUS Standards service. It frees up time previously spent tracking legislation changes and new and repealed Acts, allowing professionals to focus on ensuring their company is in compliance with the latest rules.

Information contained in the Legislation Monthly Report includes:

• Legislation in progress/proposed
  • Current federal, provincial and territorial bills relevant to the Canadian enviroOSH Legislation series, and proposed new regulations or amendment to existing regulations. Some items may represent legislation that has received Royal Assent but is not yet in force. Summaries are included where available.
• Amendments
  • Information about amendments that have come into force in a given month. These amendments have been incorporated in the respective legislation by CCOHS staff and will appear on subsequent issues of the Canadian enviroOSH Legislation PLUS Standards service. Summaries are included where available.
• Repealed Legislation
  • Information about legislation repealed by the respective jurisdictions and removed from the Canadian enviroOSH Legislation series.
• New Documents
  • Documents contained in this area of the Monthly Report will be available in subsequent issues of the Canadian enviroOSH Legislation series. Some items are newly enacted legislation. Others are legislation that was previously in force and has been included, at client request, to increase comprehensiveness.

Contact CCOHS clientservices@ccohs.ca to become a subscriber or to find out more about CCOHS' products and services.