Government Inspectors to Begin Information Sharing—

Increased Enforcement is Goal

Ontario employers can expect to see a provincial government inspector more often starting January 17, 2008. The Ministry of Labour has doubled the number of occupational health & safety inspectors by hiring 200 new inspectors. Furthermore, all provincial inspectors will soon have greater authority to collect information about your business activities and to share it with their counterparts in other provincial regulatory agencies. The newly enacted Regulatory Moderization Act, 2007 enables 13 regulatory agencies by giving them more authority to collect, and share, information about your business activities. Labour Minister Steve Peters said in a recent news release, "Increased enforcement is part of our plan to strengthen our province."

What does the new law mean to your business?

• Information about your business activities is more likely to be collected by any government representative visiting your workplace. Inspectors are now authorized to share their observations with other government agencies.
• More inspectors will have more time to enforce the law because they are spending more time in the field and less time duplicating paper work.
• The government is paying closer attention to repeat offenders.
• Employers with a history of following the rules can expect less attention from inspectors.

1. Spend a few minutes now researching exactly which government agencies regulate your business.
2. In your research, find out exactly the laws, rules and regulations that apply specifically to you and your workers.
3. Arrange training for yourself, your managers and your front-line workers.
4. Audit and inspect your workplace—think like a government inspector.
5. Ensure your policies and procedures are current.
6. Is your workplace safe? Does your organization respect human rights? Do you pay workers fairly? Can you prove it with documentation?