WHMIS Education and Training 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under WHMIS, workers have the right to:
- Refuse training if they consider themselves experienced enough
- Receive adequate training on hazardous products they work with (Correct answer)
- Skip SDS review when no recent incidents have occurred
- Set their own training schedule without employer oversight
Correct answer: Receive adequate training on hazardous products they work with
Workers have the right to be informed about workplace hazards, which includes the right to receive proper WHMIS training.
Question 2: Which situation would typically trigger a requirement to retrain workers under WHMIS?
- A new worker joins the accounts payable team
- A new hazardous product is introduced to the workplace (Correct answer)
- The company updates its logo on product packaging
- A worker returns from a two-week vacation
Correct answer: A new hazardous product is introduced to the workplace
Introducing a new hazardous product means workers face new hazards they haven't been trained on, making retraining mandatory.
Question 3: Generic WHMIS training refers to:
- Training specific to each individual chemical found at the worksite
- Foundational instruction on WHMIS principles, label elements, and SDS format (Correct answer)
- Training provided exclusively to management and supervisors
- Training that fully replaces site-specific instruction
Correct answer: Foundational instruction on WHMIS principles, label elements, and SDS format
Generic training covers the overall WHMIS framework — how labels work, what SDS sections mean — before site-specific training applies those concepts.
Question 4: What must employers do to confirm that WHMIS training has been effective?
- Nothing — completing a training session is legally sufficient
- Ensure workers can demonstrate understanding of hazard information and apply it to work safely (Correct answer)
- Have workers sign an attendance form
- Send workers to a provincial certification testing center
Correct answer: Ensure workers can demonstrate understanding of hazard information and apply it to work safely
WHMIS requires that workers not only receive training but also comprehend it and be able to apply it — employers must verify this competency.
Question 5: Regarding labels, what must WHMIS training teach workers?
- How to legally remove labels from containers after opening
- How to interpret pictograms, signal words, and hazard and precautionary statements on labels (Correct answer)
- How to design custom workplace labels from scratch
- That labels are optional for products used only indoors
Correct answer: How to interpret pictograms, signal words, and hazard and precautionary statements on labels
Workers must be able to read and understand all elements on a WHMIS label, including GHS-aligned pictograms and signal words, to use products safely.
Question 6: Which topic is NOT typically a required component of WHMIS training content?
- The location of SDS and how to use them in the workplace
- The meaning of WHMIS labels and pictograms
- The purchase price and supplier terms for hazardous products (Correct answer)
- Safe work procedures for handling hazardous products
Correct answer: The purchase price and supplier terms for hazardous products
Cost and supplier terms are commercial matters unrelated to worker health and safety, which is the focus of WHMIS training.
Question 7: What responsibility do workers carry after completing WHMIS training?
- To independently train new colleagues without employer involvement
- To apply the hazard information they received in order to work safely (Correct answer)
- To update and maintain SDS documents for their department
- To report training program gaps directly to Health Canada
Correct answer: To apply the hazard information they received in order to work safely
Workers must actively use what they learned — reading labels, consulting SDS, following safe procedures — to protect themselves and their coworkers.
WHMIS Education and Training 3
Under WHMIS, workers have the right to: