NPPE Occupational Health and Safety Legislation — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'internal responsibility system' (IRS) in Canadian occupational health and safety law is based on the premise that:
- Only government inspectors are responsible for identifying and correcting workplace hazards
- Workplace safety is the exclusive responsibility of the employer
- Everyone in the workplace — employers, supervisors, and workers — shares responsibility for identifying and resolving health and safety issues (Correct answer)
- Safety committees are the sole mechanism for resolving OHS disputes in the workplace
Correct answer: Everyone in the workplace — employers, supervisors, and workers — shares responsibility for identifying and resolving health and safety issues
The IRS is the foundational philosophy of Canadian OHS law. It holds that the people closest to the workplace — employers, supervisors, and workers — are best positioned to identify and control hazards, and all share responsibility for doing so. Government enforcement (external responsibility) is a last resort when the IRS breaks down.
Question 2: A professional engineer acting as a project supervisor can avoid personal liability under OHS legislation for a safety violation by demonstrating:
- That another worker caused the incident
- That the company's safety program was documented in writing
- Due diligence — that they took all reasonable precautions to prevent the contravention (Correct answer)
- That they were unaware of the hazard at the time of the incident
Correct answer: Due diligence — that they took all reasonable precautions to prevent the contravention
The 'due diligence' defence is available under Canadian OHS legislation to supervisors and employers who can demonstrate they took every reasonable precaution in the circumstances to prevent the violation. Mere ignorance of a hazard is not a defence — a diligent supervisor is expected to identify foreseeable hazards. Due diligence requires proactive measures, not just reactive responses.
Question 3: Under Canada's Criminal Code (the 'Westray amendments', s. 217.1), organizations and senior officers have a legal duty to:
- Provide workers with safety training only when requested
- Take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to workers or the public arising from work done in the organization (Correct answer)
- Report all workplace accidents to the federal Minister of Labour within 24 hours
- Conduct annual third-party safety audits and file results with the regulator
Correct answer: Take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to workers or the public arising from work done in the organization
Section 217.1 of the Criminal Code (added after the 2003 Westray Mine inquiry) imposes a legal duty on everyone who undertakes or has authority to direct work to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to workers or members of the public. Senior officers and organizations can face criminal prosecution for negligence that causes workplace deaths or serious injuries.
Question 4: A joint health and safety committee (JHSC) in a provincially regulated workplace typically has the authority to:
- Impose fines on employers for safety violations
- Shut down operations immediately when a hazard is observed
- Make recommendations to the employer on health and safety matters and inspect the workplace (Correct answer)
- Negotiate collective bargaining agreements that include safety provisions
Correct answer: Make recommendations to the employer on health and safety matters and inspect the workplace
JHSCs are advisory bodies with the mandate to identify workplace hazards, conduct inspections, and make recommendations to the employer. They do not have the authority to impose fines (that power rests with government inspectors) or unilaterally shut down work. However, their recommendations carry significant weight and employers must respond to them in writing within prescribed time periods.
Question 5: Which of the following is a key difference between a 'hazard' and a 'risk' in the context of occupational health and safety?
- A hazard is a potential source of harm; a risk is the likelihood and severity of harm occurring from that hazard (Correct answer)
- A hazard is always physical; a risk may be physical, chemical, or biological
- A hazard exists only if workers have complained about it; a risk exists once an incident has occurred
- There is no meaningful distinction — the terms are interchangeable in OHS legislation
Correct answer: A hazard is a potential source of harm; a risk is the likelihood and severity of harm occurring from that hazard
In OHS terminology, a 'hazard' is a condition or practice with the potential to cause harm (e.g., an exposed electrical conductor), while 'risk' is the probability and consequence of harm actually materializing from that hazard. This distinction matters for risk assessment: engineers must identify hazards and then evaluate the risk each poses to determine appropriate controls.
Question 6: An engineer discovers a serious structural deficiency in scaffolding at a construction site they are inspecting. Workers are currently using the scaffolding. What is the most appropriate immediate action?
- Document the deficiency and include it in the final inspection report
- Notify the site supervisor verbally and continue with the inspection
- Direct that work on the scaffolding stop immediately and ensure the deficiency is corrected before work resumes (Correct answer)
- Advise workers to use personal protective equipment until the deficiency is addressed at a later date
Correct answer: Direct that work on the scaffolding stop immediately and ensure the deficiency is corrected before work resumes
An engineer who observes an imminent danger to worker safety has a professional and legal obligation to act immediately to protect those workers. Documenting the hazard for a later report or recommending PPE as a substitute for structural correction are inadequate responses to an immediate danger. Halting work and requiring correction before resumption is the appropriate action.
NPPE Occupational Health and Safety Legislation
The 'internal responsibility system' (IRS) in Canadian occupational health and safety law is based on the premise that: