TORONTO — The Government of Ontario has announced it is increasing the fines for individuals and businesses that don’t meet workplace health and safety standards.
The maximum fines for an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) increased from $25,000 to $100,000 for an individual or unincorporated business, an amount that had not changed since 1979; and $500,000 to $1.5 million for corporations, which had not changed since 1990.
Ontario has also changed the time limit to allow for prosecution, from one year from the date of the offence, to one year from the date an inspector becomes aware of an alleged offence, states a release issued by the Ministry of Labour (MOL).
In 2016-17, MOL health and safety inspectors conducted more than 79,800 visits to more than 34,700 workplaces and issued more than 118,000 orders because of non-compliance with the OHSA. In 2016, the courts imposed more than $11 million in fines and entered more than 2,200 convictions against workplace parties for contraventions of the act and its regulations, adds the release.
“Ontario has one of the best worker safety records in Canada,” said Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn in a statement. “Despite this, people continue to lose their lives or get seriously injured in workplaces every day. By increasing the fines for non-compliance, we are sending a message to all employers and workers that we are serious about enforcing workplace health and safety.”
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed