The strategy framework is designed to guide all parties who influence health and safety in Ontario workplaces and help us maximize the investments made by all parts of the system.

Vision: Health and safe Ontario workplaces

Goal: Target the areas of greatest need

Priorities:

  • Assist the most vulnerable workers
  • Support occupational health and safety improvements in small business
  • Address the highest hazards that result in workplace injuries, illnesses or fatalities

Goal: Enhance service delivery

Priorities:

  • Integrate service delivery and planning
  • Build collaborative partnerships
  • Promote a culture of health and safety

Approaches

  • Legislation and regulation
  • Enforcement and monitoring
  • Education and training
  • Advisory services
  • Programs and motivators
  • Awareness
  • Research and data management

Foundation: Occupational health and safety in all workplaces (workers and employers)

The priorities are broad enough that all organizations can “fit” or align their occupational health and safety activities into the framework. To achieve our vision of healthy and safe Ontario workplaces, the system will use the most appropriate approach(es) in priority areas to achieve two goals:

  • Target the Areas of Greatest Need – identify opportunities to reduce the occupational health and safety risks that workers face, which can be influenced by individual, employer and/or job task characteristics
  • Enhance Service Delivery – improve the way we use available approaches to have the greatest impact.

This framework is supported by four Principles to guide actions to improve occupational health and safety:

  • Shared leadership and responsibility. All system partners and workplace parties share leadership and responsibility for healthy and safe workplaces. The ministry provides leadership in enforcing the legislation.The Chief Prevention Officer – with input from the Prevention Council - provides leadership in co-ordinating system partners and providing guidance to workplaces across the province. Leadership responsibilities extend beyond the ministry and the system partners to business and labour leaders and workplace parties. To achieve results, more organizational leaders must make occupational health and safety a high priority in their workplaces.
  • Stakeholder engagement. All Ontarians have an interest in occupational health and safety. By listening to all voices, we can learn how to improve the system and improve the impact of our services and initiatives. We will engage those within the system, as well as those beyond the system, to ensure we are aware of different perspectives and are able to meet diverse needs.
  • Best available evidence. All decisions should be supported by the best evidence available. To identify situations that put workers at risk, the system must improve its ability to collect and use data to guide system activities and drive continuous quality improvement. We must use that data to target our efforts and measure our success.
  • Transparency and accountability. We are all working to achieve the same outcomes, even though we may use different approaches. It is important to be transparent so we can learn from each other, improve together and hold one another accountable.