The OHS Acts & Regulations of Each Jurisdiction

There are 2 principal components of OHS law:

Statutes, aka, “OHS Acts”, are pieces of legislation that establish the jurisdiction’s OHS system by:

• Listing the Act’s purposes;
• Setting out the broad duties and rights of different individuals and entities covered by the Act;
• Designating (or creating) the government agencies responsible for overseeing and enforcing the Act;
• Giving those agencies the power to adopt regulations implementing the Act; and
• Listing the enforcement mechanisms and penalties for violations.

OHS Regulations are created by the government agency that administers the OHS Act to supply the crucial implementation details and specific things that must be done to comply. OHS regulations may be contained in a single general regulation and/or separate regulations covering:

• Specific industries such as mining or construction;
• Specific hazards or operations like WHMIS or confined spaces; and/or
• Administrative aspects of the law such as workplace JHSCs, administrative penalties and exclusions from coverage.

Here’s a rundown of the OHS Acts and Regs. of each jurisdiction:

OHS Acts & Regulations by Jurisdiction

Note:

(1) In Ontario, the First Aid Regulations are adopted under the workers’ comp statute rather than the OHS Act