Free Safety Walkthrough

Small businesses make up the majority of workplaces across Ontario’s sectors, and many owners have limited time, staffing, and resources to meet their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). Inspectors will ensure small employers understand their legal duties, identify hazards, and provide required training and supervision.

Common Compliance Gaps

• Lack of written OHSA policies and procedures
• Missing or incomplete mandatory training (Worker Awareness, Supervisor Awareness, WHMIS, sector‑specific training)
• Limited hazard identification and control measures
• Insufficient information, instruction, and supervision
• No structured health and safety program

Why Small Businesses Are a Priority
Across construction, industrial, mining, health care, agriculture, retail, and community care sectors, 80–95% of workplaces are small businesses. These employers often face challenges such as:

• Limited financial and human resources
• Limited knowledge of OHSA requirements
• Difficulty accessing sector‑specific safety tools
• Higher vulnerability to injuries due to informal processes or lack of training

Support Available for Small Employers

• MLITSD small business safety guides and first‑steps resources
• WSPS Small Business Centre and free consultation hours
• IHSA small business tools and hazard‑specific resources
• WSN small business safety materials for mining and northern industries
• MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario (retail and manual handling support)
• Government of Ontario business and workplace resources

Campaign‑Specific Focus Areas
Small businesses will be assessed for compliance in:

• Construction: OHSA policies, mandatory training, hazard controls, supervision
• Industrial: material handling hazards, equipment safety, layout, storage, lockout
• Mining: slips, trips, falls, housekeeping, equipment access
• Health care: workplace violence prevention policies, training, and risk assessments
• Retail: MSD prevention, safe lifting, ladder use, struck‑by hazards

Goal of the Small Business Initiative
Strengthen compliance by giving small employers simple, accessible tools to build effective safety programs and protect workers across all sectors.

Ontario’s Specialized Professional Services team—ergonomists and occupational hygienists—will support all sector campaigns and run three targeted initiatives: chemical exposure, WHMIS compliance, and retail ergonomics.

Chemical Exposure Campaign

Hygienists will ensure employers control worker exposure to hazardous chemical agents and comply with Reg. 833. Employers must keep airborne exposures below Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) using engineering controls, administrative controls, safe work practices, and PPE when required.

Inspection Focus

• Worker exposure assessments
• Effectiveness of control measures
• Review of processes, practices, and exposure data
• Air sampling where needed

Why It Matters
Occupational diseases cause four times more deaths than traumatic fatalities. Identifying and controlling chemical exposures reduces long‑term illness risk.

WHMIS Compliance Campaign

Hygienists will verify compliance with Reg. 860 (WHMIS) and ensure workers receive updated training as workplaces begin receiving new SDSs and labels under the amended Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR).

Inspection Focus

• Updated labels and SDSs
• Need for WHMIS retraining
• Worker understanding of product hazards and safe handling

Why It Matters
HPR amendments (Dec 2022) changed hazard classifications and SDS requirements. Workers must be retrained to understand new information.

Retail Ergonomics & MSD Prevention

Ergonomic consultants will inspect retail workplaces for musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) hazards related to manual material handling, stocking, ladder use, and working near delivery equipment.

Inspection Focus

• Safe lifting and handling practices
• Ladder use during stocking
• Cart movement and over‑stacking
• Awkward postures, repetitive tasks, and high‑force activities
• Controls for struck‑by hazards near mobile equipment
• Employer MSD prevention efforts and IRS effectiveness

Why It Matters
MSDs account for 30% of lost‑time injuries in retail. Ladder‑related sprains and strains are among the most common injury outcomes.

Ontario is running a year‑long campaign focused on preventing workplace violence in health and community care settings. The campaign includes education, compliance support, and focused inspections.

Campaign Phases

• Compliance Assistance: Apr 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Focused Inspections: Jun 2, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Partner: Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA)

Why It Matters
Health care workers face higher risks due to working alone, working with the public, and unpredictable behaviours. In 2023, violence resulted in 1,661 WSIB lost‑time claims, making it a major sector priority.

Inspection Priorities
Inspectors will review key elements of workplace violence programs, including:

• Violence risk assessments and required re‑assessments
• Reporting and investigation of incidents
• Worker protection measures
• High‑risk areas such as nursing stations, medication areas, screening/triage zones, mental health units, and isolated work areas

Inspections will occur across hospitals, long‑term care, group homes, retirement homes, clinics, community agencies, and home health care.

Regulatory Requirements
Where O. Reg. 67/93 applies, inspectors will check for:

• Written workplace violence measures and procedures
• Annual reviews and updates
• Worker training on workplace violence prevention

Biomedical Waste Initiative (Oct 2025 – Mar 2026)

A six‑month initiative will focus on safe handling of biomedical waste, including anatomical waste, blood‑soaked materials, lab cultures, sharps, cytotoxic drugs, and infectious waste.

Inspectors and infection prevention specialists will assess:

• Waste identification and classification
• Control measures
• Worker training and supervision
• Incident history and procedures

PSHSA will support workplaces with compliance resources.

Some workers face a higher risk of injury due to personal or workplace factors. These vulnerable workers may include young workers, new workers, recent immigrants, temporary foreign workers, temporary agency workers, and those in precarious or low‑wage employment.

Common Vulnerability Factors

• Low socioeconomic status or unstable employment
• Limited literacy, training, or job experience
• Language barriers
• Age‑related risks (young or older workers)
• Immigration status concerns
• Discrimination based on race, disability, gender identity, or other factors

Workers with these vulnerabilities often receive less health and safety training and face higher injury rates.

Labour Trafficking Awareness Inspectors are trained to identify signs of labour trafficking, as vulnerable workers may be at increased risk.

What Inspectors Check

• Training provided in a way workers can understand
• Clear expectations for how tasks must be performed
• Instruction on safe use of equipment
• Adequate supervision and communication

Campaign Support Some MOL campaigns include additional resources to help employers protect vulnerable workers and meet OHSA requirements.

Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSCs) and Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) are required under Ontario’s OHSA and support the Internal Responsibility System. Their role includes monthly inspections, reviewing hazards, and raising safety concerns.

What Inspectors Check

• Required JHSC or HSR is in place
• Member roles, certification, and meeting frequency
• Inspection schedules and meeting minutes
• Mandatory health and safety postings
• Worker Trades Committee (construction) and communication with JHSC

Workplace Requirements

• 1–5 workers: No HSR/JHSC unless designated substances apply
• 6–19 workers: One HSR
• 20–49 workers: JHSC (min. 2 members)
• 50+ workers: JHSC (min. 4 members)
• Construction: JHSC at 20+ workers for 3+ months; WTC at 50+
• Farming: JHSC required at 20+ workers in greenhouse, mushroom, dairy, hog, cattle, or poultry operations

Employer Duties Maintain required training, documentation, postings, and committee activities to meet OHSA compliance.

Ontario is running a year‑long campaign targeting single‑family and multi‑family residential construction, including re‑roofing. Inspectors will focus on common activities, hazards, and control measures across residential projects.

Campaign Phases

• Compliance Assistance: Apr 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Focused Inspections: Apr 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Partner: Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA)

Why It Matters
Residential construction accounts for over 50% of all CHSP field visits, with high volumes of orders and stop‑work orders issued for repeated violations under O. Reg. 213/91.

Inspection Priorities

• Working at heights
• Equipment and material movement
• Scaffolding setup and use
• Stairs and handrails
• Ladder setup and use
• Excavation and trench protection
• Housekeeping
• Adequate information, instruction, and supervision

Campaign Approach
Inspectors will assess overall work activities, not isolated tasks, to address the root causes behind common injuries and events.

Ontario is running a year‑long campaign focused on material handling hazards in industrial workplaces. Inspectors will target activities where workers lift, carry, move, or store materials that could lead to crushing or struck‑by injuries.

Campaign Phases

• Compliance Assistance: Apr 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Focused Inspections: Apr 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Partners: WSPS and PSHSA

Why It Matters
Material handling remains a leading cause of fatalities and critical injuries. In 2024:

• 26 fatalities occurred in the industrial program
• 7 were crushing injuries
• 5 were struck‑by incidents
  Agriculture also saw fatalities linked to struck‑by and crushing hazards, often due to non‑palletized materials and limited equipment.

Inspection Priorities

Inspectors will focus on sectors with high injury rates, including agriculture, automotive, chemical, plastics, farming, industrial services, primary metals, and fabrication. Additional sectors include food and beverage, retail, hospitality, transportation, and vehicle service.

Key priorities include:

• Lifting devices, mobile equipment, and cranes
• Workplace layout and design
• Manual material handling
• Storage systems
• Automation
• Machine guarding, blocking, and lockout
• Worker and supervisor training
• Internal Responsibility System (JHSC/HSR)

Resources

Support materials include MLITSD alerts on struck‑by hazards, equipment blocking, manual material handling, and WSPS resources on mechanical handling, workplace hazards, and multilingual safety tips

Ontario is running a year‑long campaign focused on slips, trips, and falls in mines and mining plants. These incidents account for a large portion of critical injuries in the sector—nearly 40% between 2023 and 2024.

Campaign Phases

• Compliance Assistance: Apr 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Focused Inspections: Jun 2, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
• Partners: Workplace Safety North (WSN) and IHSA

Inspection Priorities
Inspectors will check compliance with Reg. 854 (Sections 46, 54, 59) and OHSA 25(1)(b), focusing on:

• Safe access and good housekeeping
• Environmental conditions affecting traction
• Mounting and dismounting mobile equipment
• Maintenance of materials, equipment, and protective devices

Key Resources

• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Regulations for Mines and Mining Plants
• Sector‑specific compliance assistance package