Bill 160 Passed - What does that mean for you?

Not much yet.  Passing the Bill just gives the Ministry of Labour (MoL) the authority to make some changes and a few other things.  With the Bill passed the MoL now:

• May appoint a Chief Prevention Officer (CPO)
• Has the authority to promote prevention of workplace injuries & illnesses (something the WSIB used to look after)
• May set training standards and approve training programs that meet specific standards (JHSC certification for example - something the WSIB used to look after)
• May create a Prevention Council - a groups consisting of representatives from trade unions, labour organizations, employers, WSIB, non-unionized workers and health & safety experts - to advise the Minister on the appointment of the Chief Prevention Officer and to advise the CPO on various aspects of health & safety in Ontario (prevention, strategy, funding, special projects, etc.)
• Will move the research grants and Health & Safety Associations under the Ministry of Labour (from WSIB)

Something to bear in mind, the Ministry will not require you to re-train JHSC certified members because of the new legislation - if they are certified they are still certified after the legislation changes.  We have heard of some training companies trying to sell training on this point and it's not necessary.

The Bill will also allow either Co-chair of the JHSC to make a recommendation to Management if the Committee fails to reach a consensus on a particular topic.  The Act will now say "committee or co-chair" instead of just committee.

With these changes the Ministry of Labour now has the authority to start implementing many of the recommendations from the Tony Dean Report.  Once the Prevention Council and Chief Prevention Officer are in place, they will start developing a strategy to continue to strengthen safe work in Ontario.