Bill 160 explained in plain English
Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011, enacts the Chief Prevention Officer and Prevention Council, establishes standards for training and designated entities, and modifies existing legislation related to occupational health and safety in Ontario.
This bill, the Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011, makes changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997. Key changes include establishing a Chief Prevention Officer responsible for developing a provincial strategy, preparing annual reports, and advising the Minister. It also creates a Prevention Council to advise the Minister and the Chief Prevention Officer. The bill introduces provisions for designating entities as safe workplace associations, medical clinics, or training centres, which will be eligible for government grants. It also updates requirements for health and safety representatives' training and allows co-chairs of joint health and safety committees to make recommendations if consensus is not reached. Amendments are made to the process for referring reprisal complaints to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and to the roles of the Office of the Worker Adviser and the Office of the Employer Adviser.
- Amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
- Adds Part II.1 to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, establishing a Prevention Council and a Chief Prevention Officer.
- Grants the Chief Prevention Officer the power to establish standards for training programs and approve providers.
- Allows the Chief Prevention Officer to certify members of joint health and safety committees.
- Requires constructors and employers to ensure health and safety representatives receive specific training.
- Grants co-chairs of joint health and safety committees the power to make written recommendations if consensus is not reached.
- Amends provisions related to the referral of reprisal complaints to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
- Adds new functions for the Office of the Worker Adviser and the Office of the Employer Adviser.
- Repeals Part II of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, concerning injury and disease prevention.
- Updates provisions related to the load-bearing capacity of structures.
- Makes provisions for the designation of entities as safe workplace associations, medical clinics, or training centres.
- Allows for the creation of codes of practice that, if approved, can be considered compliance with legal requirements.
- Employers
- Workers
- Constructors
- Ministers and their staff
- The Chief Prevention Officer
- Members of the Prevention Council
- Employees of the Office of the Worker Adviser
- Employees of the Office of the Employer Adviser
- The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
- Designated entities (safe workplace associations, medical clinics, training centres)
- Professional engineers
- Health and safety representatives
- Members of joint health and safety committees
- Employers must ensure health and safety representatives receive specific training.
- Co-chairs of joint health and safety committees have the power to make written recommendations if consensus is not reached.
- Designated entities must operate in accordance with established standards and ministerial directions.
- The Chief Prevention Officer may collect and disclose information about workers' training completion, with worker consent.
- Inspectors may refer matters to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board under certain conditions.
- Persons employed in the Office of the Worker Adviser or the Office of the Employer Adviser are not compellable witnesses in certain proceedings.
- The Act received Royal Assent on June 1, 2011.
- Some provisions came into force on the day the Act received Royal Assent.
- Other provisions come into force on a day named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Certain provisions come into force on April 1, 2012, or on a day named by proclamation.
- Subsection 8(3) comes into force on the later of April 1, 2012 (or a day named by proclamation) and the day section 24 of the Not-For-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, comes into force.
- Designated entities are eligible for grants from the Ministry.
- The Minister may provide grants to support occupational health and safety.
- Owners, constructors, or employers may incur costs to provide reports from professional engineers.
- The Minister may reduce or suspend grants to designated entities that fail to comply with standards or directions.
- The Minister may assume control of a non-compliant designated entity.
- The Minister may revoke the designation of a non-compliant entity.
- The specific requirements for training programs and providers are subject to standards established by the Chief Prevention Officer.
- The exact nature and scope of 'significant changes' to funding and delivery of prevention services, which trigger consultation with the Chief Prevention Officer and the Prevention Council, are subject to prescribed matters.
- The specific functions prescribed for the Office of the Worker Adviser and the Office of the Employer Adviser are not detailed in the bill text provided.
- The effective dates for many provisions depend on proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill does not specify the amounts of grants that may be provided.
This bill makes numerous amendments to this Act, including adding new parts and sections related to the Chief Prevention Officer, Prevention Council, designated entities, training standards, and the process for handling reprisal complaints.
Source: Multiple sections
This bill amends this Act, including repealing Part II (Injury and Disease Prevention) and making changes related to information sharing agreements and the duties of the Board.
Source: Multiple sections
Provides authority for the chair of the Board to make rules to expedite proceedings related to complaints or referrals under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Source: Section 13 (4.1)
Amends provisions within the Occupational Health and Safety Act that reference public servants, specifically in relation to jurisdiction when a complaint is filed by a public servant.
Source: Section 13 (6)
Amends a reference within the Occupational Health and Safety Act from 'Corporations Act' to 'Not-For-Profit Corporations Act, 2010'.
Source: Section 8 (3)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced