There isn’t an OSHA Canada, but people and organizations don’t always know this fact. Instead, Canada uses the term Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) for its safety standards.
Learn About The Occupational Health and Safety Standards in Canada (OH&S)
Canada has its own regulations in terms of safety. The safety standards in this country are most often a Provincial / Territory requirement. There are fourteen jurisdictions in Canada – one federal, ten provincial, and three territorial — and each has 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 are some exceptions to this approach. For example, Federal legislation covers employees of the federal government, including Crown agencies and corporations across Canada, as well as to employees of companies or sectors that operate across provincial or international borders. These businesses include:
- Airports and airlines
- Banks
- Canals
- Exploration and development of petroleum on lands subject to federal jurisdiction
- Ferries, port services, tunnels and bridges
- Grain elevators licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission, and certain feed mills and feed warehouses, flour mills and grain seed-cleaning plants
- Highway transport
- Many First Nations activities
- Pipelines
- Radio and television broadcasting 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.
The contact information for each of the legislative bodies can be found on this website link.
Did That Help Clarify OSHA, OH&S, and other Safety Standards?
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Workforce Compliance Safety will help you navigate these requirements (especially if you are working in multiple provinces). We are a leader in Canadian OH&S legislation, including COR and SECOR safety manual development, safety registry compliance and online safety training.
Workforce Compliance Safety Ltd. has provided our organization with dependable, timely, and affordable safety consulting services.
Harvest Oilfield Service, Inc.
Additional Information: Understanding Safety Standards in Different Countries
Wherever you are in the world the same types of safety processes help keep you and your workers safe. These processes include:
- Training
- Hazard Identification
- Inspections
- Preventative Maintenance
- Emergency Response Planning
Some countries have very strict safety standards, others do not. There are many acronyms for the government entities that provide legislation for the Safety of Workers. Examples of these government entities are:
- OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA is an agency of the United States Department of Labor
- WHS – Work, Health, and Safety in Australia
- HSE – Health Safety Executive in the United Kingdom
Safety Standard References
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/intro.html
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/information/govt.html
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/trace.htm
http://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/health/workplace-health-and-safety
https://www.osha.gov/
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