The short answer
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) sets the general duties. The Construction Projects regulation, O. Reg. 213/91, adds the construction-specific rules. The constructor has overall responsibility for the project, every employer is responsible for its own workers, and every supervisor must make sure workers follow the rules and know about the hazards.
Ontario doesn't have a single general rule requiring a written hazard assessment for every construction task. But many specific documents are required, and a written hazard assessment is the most practical way to show you took every precaution reasonable in the circumstances.
Who's responsible for what under the OHSA
| Who | Section | Key duties |
|---|---|---|
| Constructor | 23 | Make sure the measures and procedures in the Act and regulations are carried out on the project, every employer and worker on the project complies, and workers' health and safety is protected. Give the Ministry notice of the project where the regulations require it. |
| Employer | 25 | Appoint a competent person as supervisor (25(2)(c)), take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances (25(2)(h)), and where more than five workers are regularly employed, prepare a written health and safety policy, review it at least yearly and keep a program to carry it out (25(2)(j)). |
| Supervisor | 27 | Make sure workers use the required methods, protective devices and equipment, tell workers about any actual or potential dangers the supervisor knows about, give written instructions where prescribed, and take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances. |
A competent person under the OHSA is someone qualified through knowledge, training and experience to organize the work, who knows the Act and regulations that apply, and who knows about any potential or actual danger in the workplace. That's the standard every supervisor must meet.
What O. Reg. 213/91 requires on site
- Registration (section 5): constructors and employers must complete the Ministry's registration form (Form 1000) and keep it at the project.
- Notice of project (section 6): the constructor must file before work begins on projects such as those over $50,000 in labour and materials, buildings over two storeys or 7.5 metres, certain demolition, trenches over 1.2 metres deep and 30 metres long that a person may enter, and any work that the regulation requires a professional engineer to design. Post a signed copy on site.
- Site postings (section 13): the constructor's name and business address, and the nearest Ministry office.
- Supervisors (sections 14 and 15): the constructor must appoint a supervisor where five or more workers work at the same time, and each employer with five or more workers on the project must also appoint one. Supervisors must oversee the work at all times, personally or through a competent assistant, and inspect equipment, structures and access at least weekly.
- Emergency procedures (section 17): the constructor must set up written emergency procedures, review them with the joint committee or health and safety representative, and post them.
- Fall protection (sections 26.1 and 26.2): written rescue procedures before anyone uses a fall arrest system or safety net, and training on the fall protection system used.
Canada / JSA drafts
Keeping all of this current is a job in itself.
Explain the task out loud and SOPmate drafts an editable hazard assessment or JSA your crew can review and sign.
iPhone and iPad. Not on iPhone? Email support@sopmate.ai to hear about Android.
Training you need to prove
Basic awareness training
Under O. Reg. 297/13, workers must complete basic health and safety awareness training, and supervisors must complete the supervisor awareness program within one week of starting in the role.
Working at heights
Construction workers who use travel restraint, fall restricting or fall arrest systems, safety nets, work belts or safety belts need working at heights training from a Chief Prevention Officer approved provider before they use the equipment. It's valid for 3 years, then a refresher is required.
Keep the records
Employers must keep a working at heights training record for each worker, either the proof of completion or a record with the worker's name, provider, program and completion date. Inspectors can ask to see it.
Written hazard assessments
Some Ontario rules do require a written assessment or plan. Employers must assess the risk of workplace violence (OHSA section 32.0.3) and share the results in writing with the joint committee or representative. Confined space work needs a written plan by a competent person before entry under O. Reg. 632/05.
For everything else, constructors commonly require each trade to provide a JSA for high-risk tasks and a field level hazard assessment at the start of each shift. That's how supervisors show they told workers about the hazards under section 27.
Fines and penalties
Ontario's maximum OHSA fines were raised in 2022 and again in 2023, and are now among the highest in Canada.
| What goes wrong | What you can face |
|---|---|
| Conviction of an individual, such as a supervisor or worker | Up to $500,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both (raised in 2022). |
| Conviction of a director or officer of a corporation | Up to $1,500,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both (raised in 2022). |
| Conviction of a corporation | Up to $2,000,000 for offences on or after October 26, 2023. A minimum fine of $500,000 applies to a second or subsequent offence that causes death or serious injury within two years. A victim fine surcharge is added on top. |
| Simple on-site breaches | Set fines (tickets) under the Provincial Offences Act. Schedule 67.1 sets amounts from $250 to $650, for example $550 for a constructor not appointing a supervisor where five or more workers are on the project. |
| An inspector finds a danger to workers | A compliance order or a stop work order under section 57, which halts work or equipment use until the order is met. |
| Someone is seriously hurt or killed | Prosecution of the corporation, supervisors and directors, and possible Criminal Code charges. |
Set fine amounts and surcharges can change. Check the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and Ontario e-Laws for current figures.
Common mistakes
- Naming a supervisor who isn't competent for the work. The test is knowledge, training and experience for that specific work.
- No supervisor at all on a small subcontract. If you have five or more workers on the project, you need one.
- Training done but not recorded. Without the record, an inspector treats it as not done.
- Leaving hazards to the constructor. Each employer and supervisor has separate duties.