Chief Prevention Officer Report

Dear Occupational Health and Safety Partner,   

As Ontario’s new Chief Prevention Officer, I am pleased to share the Occupational Health and Safety in Ontario: 2016-17 Annual Report. This annual report outlines some of the work done in 2016-17 to deliver on the vision, goals and priorities articulated in Healthy and Safe Ontario Workplaces – A Strategy for Transforming Occupational Health and Safety.  

With our transformational strategy as a guide, system partners are undertaking innovative approaches to prevention awareness, training and enforcement activities. They are driven by a continuing commitment to make working in Ontario safe for all workers – while being flexible in exploring new approaches, tools and partnerships. 

These incremental and complementary efforts create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts and create a growing culture of workplace occupational health and safety in Ontario. In the years ahead, we must build on the collaborative spirit so that Ontario is a place where health and safety at work is everyone’s responsibility, and everyone is safe at work.  

Notable achievements include the following:

• In 2016, approximately 200,000 workers received the Working at Heights training in 21,420 classes offered by the approved training providers, an increase of 86 percent from the previous year. By March 2018, 480,000 workers received this training. 
• Various regulatory amendments came into force, including requirements related to the operation of suspended access equipment; and implementation of key recommendations from the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review Final Report.
• Legislative amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act came into force related to supporting survivors and challenging sexual violence and harassment and incorporating international standards for workplace chemicals. 
• Work towards passing legislation to include amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 to expand the entitlement for injured workers by allowing compensation for work-related chronic mental stress.
• Development of the Construction Health and Safety Action Plan, released in May 2017, which contains 16 recommendations to create a more knowledgeable, skilled sector and to increase the sector’s compliance with occupational health and safety laws.
• Work on the progress report summarizing the findings from phase one of the Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care Leadership Table.
• Work across Ontario’s health and safety system partners in preparation for the first ever International Noise Awareness Day, which was held in late-April 2017. 

Again, thank you to all system partners for the hard work, the partnership, and the perseverance. I look forward to working with Ontario’s occupational health and safety system partners to address current and emerging challenges and to continue to build on past successes.  

Sincerely,  

Ron Kelusky
Chief Prevention Officer 
Ontario Ministry of Labour