Ontario will launch a heightened enforcement focus related to hazards in shipping and receiving areas, including loading docks, as part of an ongoing campaign to increase safety in workplaces, according to a statement from the Ministry of Labour.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour will focus its safety inspections on risks involving musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), in a two-month enforcement blitz starting this month.

In a statement, the ministry said beginning September 15, it will target workplaces in the construction, health care, industrial and mining sectors.

The federal government has embarked on a series of national dialogue focused on issues relating to occupational health and safety, with the end-goal of enhancing safety in Canadian workplaces.

It has been almost six months since Royal Assent was given to the Bill 168 amendments, instituting workplace violence and harassment provisions to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). We are now rapidly approaching June 15, 2010, the date set for the workplace violence amendments to come into force, and thus the date set for all Ontario employers to be in compliance with the new Ontario OHSA workplace violence and harassment provisions contained in Bill 168. 

The Ontario Public Service Union has warned against privatization of occupational health and safety enforcement in view of the province’s current review of the OHS enforcement and prevention system.

 

Partners in Prevention 2010, Ontario’s newest health and safety tradeshow and conference, kicked off May 4th with the Ministry of Labour announcing the availability of the workplace violence toolbox to help organizations comply with Bill 168, new legislation amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to add workplace violence-specific requirements.

Forklifts and other lifting devices are the focus of this month’s safety inspection blitz by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, labour minister Peter Fonseca announced Tuesday.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour will make resources available for employers in the province to help them comply with new requirements under Bill 168, a new law that adds workplace violence and harassment protection to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour will conduct an enforcement blitz at mining operations throughout the province in September to “check for hazards involving live electrical equipment,” in order to reduce workplace injuries.

The blitz is part of the Safe at Work Ontario campaign, which was launched last summer, and will see inspectors checking for electrical hazards that can result in death or injury, and inspecting electrical equipment and practices at underground mines, aggregate operations and surface plants.  

Ontario organizations operating forklifts and other lifting devices should expect to see more inspections from the Ministry of Labour this month, according to a statement from Labour Minister Peter Fonseca.