hazard assessment

Recent amendments to Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code bring big changes to Alberta workplaces

July 3, 2018 Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development

This blog provides a summary of some of the key changes to the Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code relating to joint work site health and safety committees, health and safety representatives, harassment and violence.

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Is 15 years old too young to work construction?

July 30, 2014 Christina Catenacci Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Union Relations

A very sad story was recently published in the Globe and Mail about a 15-year-old boy who was working at a gravel-crushing site in Alberta, when he became entangled in a conveyor belt and was killed. It leaves one wondering whether the age of 15 is an appropriate age for young persons to be working in the construction industry.

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New significant health and safety penalties and on-the-spot tickets in Alberta intended to act as deterrent

October 25, 2013 Christina Catenacci Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Penalties and Fines, Training and Development

Alberta’s Protection and Compliance Statutes Amendment Act, 2012 came into force on September 6, 2013. What does this mean for employers? Section 40 in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation regarding new administrative penalties and on the spot fines is now effective.

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Saskatchewan poised to enact the most far-reaching regulation to protect late night retail workers in Canada

November 22, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety has announced the enactment of a new regulatory amendment aimed at enhancing the protection of late night retail workers in that province. The new law comes into force on January 1st, 2013, and compels those operating late night retail establishments to conduct a hazard assessment and implement a range of specific crime prevention measures to protect late night retail workers.

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Slaw: Reporting of critical injury or fatality of a non-worker: The Blue Mountain case

June 9, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources

A guest drowns in the hotel pool. Does the hotel need to report the fatality to the Ontario Ministry of Labour under subsection 51(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act? According to a decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), the answer is “yes”. On May 18, 2011, the Divisional Court…

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Slaw: Employer monitoring employees with GPS tracking

April 26, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

Safety is the expressed justification that’s driving the use of GPS in the workplace; however, from what was explained, most employers’ use goes beyond safety. Frankly, I was taken aback by the lengths to which employers are going to track the whereabouts and activities of their employees in the name of safety.

Assessing risk in the workplace

March 15, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources

Occupational health and safety legislation across Canada requires employers to identify any existing or foreseeable hazards that might arise in the workplace, and to conduct an assessment of these various workplace hazards that employees might be exposed to, or that may arise from the nature of the workplace, and the type and conditions of the work…

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