Health and Safety

All workers have the right to come home each day to their families, safe and sound. Workplace injuries and fatalities are unacceptable.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour enforces the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), which sets out the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers. The main purpose of the act is to protect workers’ health and safety on the job. The OHSA establishes procedures for identifying and dealing with workplace hazards, and it provides for enforcement of the law when compliance is not achieved voluntarily.

Safe At Work Ontario is the province’s workplace health and safety compliance strategy. This strategy focuses on improving workplace health and safety through education, training, and enforcement of provincial legislation and regulations.

Essential to the success of this strategy are the system's education and prevention partners. These include the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and Ontario's Health and Safety Associations (HSAs).

The ministry's main concern is enforcement of the OHSA; the WSIB focuses on prevention; and the HSAs concentrate on training and education.