The Ontario Ministry of Labour announced on July 1, O. Reg. 420/21: Notices and Reports under Sections 51 To 53.1 of the Act – Fatalities, Critical Injuries, Occupational Illnesses and Other Incidents under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act. It is welcome and about time to consolidate the definition found in multiple regulations.
New Changes to the Definition:
Regulation 420/21 incorporates the definition of “critical injury” from its former regulation:
places life in jeopardy
produces unconsciousness
results in substantial loss of blood
involves the fracture of a leg or arm but not a finger or toe
involves the amputation of a leg, arm, hand or foot but not a finger or toe
consists of burns to a major portion of the body
causes the loss of sight in an eye.
What does this mean for workplaces and safety practitioners?
Finally, employers and safety practitioners can find in one place the definition, when it was buried in each of the respective regulations:
Regulation 851: Industrial Establishments
Regulation 854: Mines and Mining Plants
Regulation 855: Oil and Gas – Offshore
Regulation 859: Window Cleaning
Regulation 861: X-Ray Safety
Regulation 213/91: Construction Projects
Regulation 67/93: Health Care and Residential Facilities
Regulation 629/94: Diving Operations
Regulation 414/05: Farming Operations
Retention of written notices updated:
Employers or constructors will need to retain for at least three years a copy of any written notice or report required under Sections 51 to 53.1 of the OHSA.
One consolidated national OHS legislation:
It is understood that provincially OHS legislation is mandated, however having 13 different pieces of OHS legislation in Canada is a problem. There should be a move to consolidate into one health and safety legislation the requirements for workplaces to follow. It has been done with OSHA in the United States and works well.