The Court of Appeal for Ontario recently rendered a decision in a prosecution under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) that has broad implications for employers. 

The decision in R. v. Dofasco is very important for OHS professionals and all managers responsible for the health and safety of workers to understand and apply in setting and enforcing safe work procedures. An initial reading of the Court of Appeal’s decision may be discouraging. How, ask many employers, can we ever prove the defence of due diligence? That and other issues and implications will be reviewed as we ask, rhetorically, is R. v. Dofasco the death of due diligence?