While there has been a steady increase in the enforcement of
health and safety violations at workplaces by the Ministry of
Labour (MOL) in recent years, the Occupational
Health & Safety Act (OHSA) hasn't
always kept pace.
That has now changed. Bill 177, the Stronger, Fairer Ontario
Act (Budget Measures), 2017, amended the OHSA, and those
amendments are now in effect. As the amendments allow for, and
depend on, further changes that will be coming, it will take time
until their full scope is understood. However, it is clear that
there will be an immediate impact on workplaces.
- First, the Bill overhauls the
OHSA's sentencing regime by changing fine limits that have been
in place for more than a generation. Up until the amendments, the
maximum fines that individuals and corporations faced were $25,000
and $500,000 respectively. Those limits have now been increased to
$100,000 and $1.5M. While these changes will have to make their way
through the courts, prosecutors
