Canadian Occupational Safety

December/January 2016 11 JHSC changes in Ontario going back to the '90s Longer certifi cation training does not mean increased safety O n Oct. 1, Ontario's Ministry of Labour announced new training standards for Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certification training and training providers. The chief prevention offi cer is looking to the past to reinvent JHSCs. The controversial Workplace Health and Safety Agency, under the infamous Bob Rae NDP government in Ontario in the 1990s, appears to be the basis for new changes coming to workplaces in early 2016. The changes are the latest effort by the Kathleen Wynne government to try and improve occupational health and safety. The changes, which are not open to public or legislative debate, involve lengthening the time to provide the same training under the current certifi cation system. The bottom line is that completing JHSC Part 1 and Part 2 of the training will now take fi ve days (up from the current three). There is also a requirement for one-day refresher training every three years. The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) requires that a JHSC have at least one management and one worker member who are "certifi ed" or have received certifi cation training. In order to become certifi ed, JHSC members must complete a two-part training program. JHSC Part 1 train- ing is common to all industries and reviews various health and safety topics. Part 2 Workplace Specific Hazard Training reviews signifi cant hazards applicable to the participant's workplace. JHSC Part 1 training must be obtained from a training provider approved by the Ministry of Labour. The current standards for JHSC certifi cation have been in place since 1996. There is no evidence that the current system is not working or that it needs to be changed. The current stan- dards will remain in effect until Feb. 29, 2016, and the new standards will come into effect on March 1, 2016. Training providers approved under the 1996 standard can continue to provide JHSC training during the transition period leading up to March 1, 2016. TRAINING PROVIDERS Companies that provide training for health and safety committee member certifi cation will need to apply to the Ministry of Labour for approval under the new JHSC Certifi cation Training Standards to provide training after March 1. There is no reason provided by the chief prevention offi cer why past providers need to apply to con- tinue to be approved by the Ministry of Labour. This will put costs pressure on smaller, private sector training provid- ers who wish to continue to provide certifi cation training and favour the heavily subsidized workplace safety associations in Ontario. COMMITTEE MEMBERS JHSC members who complete both Part 1 and Part 2 training under the 1996 standard prior to March 1 will continue to be certifi ed and will not be required to complete any further training under the new JHSC certifi ca- tion standards, including the refresher training. This effectively "grandfa- thers" certifi cated members who are certifi ed before March 1. Worker or management members who need to become certifi ed for the fi rst time will need more time off work to get their certifi cation. As of March 1, JHSC Part 1 training will be a mini- mum of three days or 19.5 hours. Part 2, or Workplace Specifi c Hazard Train- ing, will be a minimum of two days or 13 hours and must be completed within six months of completion of Part 1 training. Those members cer- tifi ed under the new standards will be required to take refresher training every three years. Those members who have completed only Part 1 training under the 1996 standard as of March 1 will be required to complete Part 2 training under the new standards in order to become certifi ed. They will also be required to take refresher train- ing to maintain their certifi cation. These changes mean employers will have increased costs and lost productivity while their workers are completing the initial training and the future refresher training requirement, all to achieve the same end result; namely "certifi ed member" status under section 9 of the OHSA. One of the enduring lessons from the failed Health and Safety Agency was that longer certifi cation training (fi ve days in the 1990s) did not make the certifi ed members more effective. Although the agency was popular with organized labour in Ontario, it was also found to be a hot bed of nepo- tism and government waste. These new changes will be one of the defi n- ing moves by the chief prevention offi cer who hails from the construc- tion industry. Although accidents in construction have yet to be fully addressed by the Ministry of Labour, the certifi cation changes will apply to all workplaces, regardless of the level of risk. For example, large accounting fi rms and stock brokerage fi rms in Ontario will have to meet these new certifi cation training requirements even though they remain very low-risk workplaces. This is the same approach taken by Bob Rae and the NDP in the 1990s; the agency treated all work- places the same even though their relative risk levels varied greatly. These moves by the offi ce of the chief preven- tion offi cer, like the agency before it, do little if anything to improve safety in Ontario, but place higher costs on employers that will foot the bill for the 50 per cent increase in the lost time for both worker and management mem- bers who attend certifi cation training. The Ministry of Labour has con- fi rmed there will be a transition period from March 1 to April 30 for employ- ers and training providers to be able to submit their fi nal 1996 JHSC Part 1 learner tests and Part 2 Workplace Specifi c Hazard Training confi rmation forms. The ministry has confi rmed that it will not accept submissions for certifi cation under the 1996 standard after that date. Norm Keith, an OHS lawyer and consultant, is a partner at Fasken Mar- tineau DuMoulin in Toronto. He can be reached at (416) 868-7824 or nkeith@ fasken.com, or visit www.ehslaw.ca for more information. PEOPLE&PLACES NORM KEITH LEGAL LANDSCAPE NORM KEITH LANDSCAPE PEOPLE&PLACES Scott Desautels currently holds the Position of Director of Health Safety and Environment at Strike Group Inc and prior to this held the position of Manager, HSE Systems and Sustainability for two years. Scott also held various position in the previous ve years in management and supervision in the Health, Safety and Training Department at Penn West Exploration. While at Penn West he led the development and implementation of the Safety Planning Process which involved teams of workers and management. Before transitioning to the Oil and Gas industry he worked at Canadian Paci c Railway for 25 years both at the eld and corporate of ce level, in health and safety and in the engineering department. These positions allowed him to work in various locations across Canada and the United States where he, as part of a team, learned and applied health, safety and loss control that enabled the company to be a leader in the industry. Scott holds a Civil Engineering Diploma from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and in 1998 completed the University of Alberta, Applied Science Certi cate program in Occupational Health and Safety. Scott is a member of the Association of Science and Engineering Technology in Alberta, as a Certi ed Engineering Technologist (C.E.T.), and is a member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE). A CRSP since 1999, he has served as the Chair of the Regional Screening Centre for Alberta South since 2007. The Board's Volunteer of the Year program was initiated in 2001 in conjunction with its 25th anniversary and the United Nation's "Year of the Volunteer". The Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) is a public interest, ISO 17024 (Personnel Certi cation Body) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) accredited, self-regulating, self- governing organization established in 1976 under The Canada Corporations Act for the purpose of certifying Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (CRSP) ® /Professionnel en sécurité agréé du Canada (PSAC) ® . Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals Conseil canadien des professionnels en sécurité agréés 6700 Century Avenue, Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5N 6A4, info@bcrsp.ca, www.bcrsp.ca Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals 2015 Volunteer of the Year Announcement Scott Desautels currently holds the Position of Director of Health Safety and Environment at Strike Group Inc and prior to this held the position of Manager, HSE Systems and Sustainability for two years. Scott also held various position in the previous ve years in management and supervision in the Health, Safety and Training Department at Penn West Exploration. While at Penn West he led the development and implementation of the Safety Planning Process which involved teams of workers and management. Before transitioning to the Oil and Gas industry he worked at Canadian Paci c Railway for 25 years both at the eld and corporate of ce level, in health and safety and in the engineering department. These positions allowed him to work in various locations across Canada and the United States where he, as part of a team, learned and applied health, safety and loss control Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals

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