Important information about issues affecting Occupational Health and Safety within our workplaces will be posted here.
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National Joint Council and Treasury Board Health and Safety Directives

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Federal court rules in PSAC’s favour, affirms workplace violence merits serious investigation

In a groundbreaking decision, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled on November 30, 2015 that employers cannot arbitrarily decide what constitutes workplace violence.

PSAC member files complaint

The case involved a workplace violence complaint filed by Abel Akon, a CFIA poultry inspector in Saskatoon and a member of PSAC. The complaint described the harassment and humiliation he suffered from his supervisor.

After the employer dismissed the complaint, PSAC supported Akon in asserting that CFIA management had violated a regulation of the Canada Labour Code. The case landed in court after the Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal of Canada endorsed the employer’s position.

PSAC wins judicial review

PSAC filed an application for judicial review. In November 2014, the federal court ruled that the way that Akon was treated did constitute workplace violence.

“Psychological bullying can be one of the worst forms of harm that can be inflicted on a person over time,” wrote Judge Michael Manson. This was in contrast to the government’s position that workplace violence only involves physical force.

Impartial investigation

The Federal Court of Appeal agreed with Justice Manson’s reasoning in its decision this week. (November 30, 2015)

It was also significant that the court agreed that employers should not be allowed to conduct their own investigations in to workplace violence, saying this “would make a mockery of the regulatory scheme and effectively nullify the employees’ right to an impartial investigation of their complaints.”


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CCOHS/CCHST

National WHMIS Website Offers One-Stop-Shop for Canadians

HAMILTON, ON (February 11, 2015) — With the recent announcement of the changes to Canada's Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS 2015), a website has been released to help Canadians transition from the old WHMIS system to WHMIS 2015 which implements the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
The website, WHMIS.org: Canada’s National WHMIS Portal, provides Canadians with a single point of access to the most current information about WHMIS 2015 from all of the jurisdictions across Canada. The website also contains helpful tools and resources for workers, employers, suppliers and trainers.
There are WHMIS requirements from Health Canada for manufacturers, distributors and importers as well as WHMIS workplace requirements from every province, territory and the federal Labour program that impact Canadian workplaces. WHMIS.org will be kept up-to-date with current information regarding the status of new and existing WHMIS laws and requirements in each jurisdiction.
“We know that information about WHMIS is spread across various government websites. We are hoping that WHMIS.org will provide the information people need, in one centralised location,” says Steve Horvath, President and Chief Executive Officer at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
WHMIS.org is a national resource developed by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) in collaboration with the Workplace Hazardous Materials Bureau of Health Canada (formerly the National Office of WHMIS) and each of the federal, provincial and territorial occupational health and safety regulatory jurisdictions across Canada.
The website can be found at www.WHMIS.org.
For Further Information, Contact:
Jennifer Howse, Communications Officer
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
(905) 572-2981, Ext. 4241    E-mail: media@ccohs.ca

www.ccohs.ca/   

About CCOHS

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), a Canadian federal government agency based in Hamilton, Ontario is Canada's national resource for the advancement of workplace health and safety. CCOHS promotes the total well-being - physical, psychosocial and mental health - of working Canadians by providing information, training, education, management systems and solutions that support health and safety programs and the prevention of injury and illness. CCOHS partners and collaborates with agencies and organizations from Canada and around the world to improve the quality and quantity of resources and programs, as well as expand the breadth of usage of occupational health information to many different segments of society.

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Labour Canada Interpretation of Changes to The Canada Labour Code Part II

Interpretations, Policies and Guidelines (IPGs)
IPGs are intended to ensure that legislation is interpreted consistently and that programs are delivered effectively across the country by Labour Program employees trained in interpretation of regulatory requirements.

 IPG-004 (Revised): Participation of the Work Place Health and Safety Committee or Representative
 http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/resources/ipg/004.shtml
 IPG- 062 (Revised): Definition of Danger
 http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/resources/ipg/062.shtml
 IPG- 070 (New): Danger as a Normal Condition of Employment
 http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/resources/ipg/070.shtml
 IPG-083 (New): Complaint is Trivial, Frivolous, Vexatious or Made in Bad Faith
 http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/resources/ipg/083.shtml

Other Documents
These documents were prepared to provide guidance to workplace parties and provide context to the amendments.

Part II Amendments web page where you can find descriptions of the Part II changes and links to the legislation and relevant documents, including the relevant  revised IPGs, pamphlets investigation template and Frequently Asked Questions.
 http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/health_safety/PartIIchanges.shtml
The revised Right to Refuse Dangerous Work pamphlet, which describes the new process for refusing to work and investigating refusals to work.
 http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/health_safety/pubs_hs/refuse.shtml
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