Lots of changes continue for the Province of Ontario relative to the WSIB, the Ministry of Labour and the AODA.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has now launched a consultation process towards the development of a more comprehensive and standardized integrated occupational health and safety strategy.
For the consultation the province issued a consultation paper entitled “An Integrated Occupational Health and Safety Strategy for Ontario”. This can now be reviewed by any individual, association or employer to make comments on.
Some of the issues which need to be addressed from a Strategic perspective includes;
- how to address the needs of vulnerable workers which can include those with underlying disabilities, recent immigrants to the province and younger workers;
- how to provide better support (and maybe more financial support?)for small businesses regarding occupational health and safety issues;
- How to provide improved support for job demands which contain hazards & risks be developing improved training standards;
- How to better protect workers from occupational diseases;
- How to be more effective in the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries which still account for the largest percentage of injuries in the workplace.
The deadline for your comments about the Consultation Paper is May 17, 2013
Optimal Performance recommends Associations such as BOMA, IFMA, CFIB & OKA consider reviewed this paper and present a more balanced response than usual to this process. Small and medium sized businesses and Facility Managers need to contribute more to this dialogue than they usually do.
Contact the Ministry of Labour for Ontario to download a copy of the paper.