LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

JHSCs

Jul 1: OHS Alberta published updated guidance (LI060) explaining the workplace JHSC and safety representative requirements under Part 13 of the OHS Code, including with regard to multi-employer work sites, special meetings, and voluntary committees.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a Game Plan to ensure compliance with the JHSC requirements of your province.

Machine Safety

Aug 1: From now through March 31, OHS Alberta will carry out planned inspections focusing on, among other things, “mechanism of injury,” that is, tasks associated with caught, contact or struck with object, tools, or equipment. Targeted industry sectors: security service, mobile equipment dealers, machine and equipment sales and service, and janitorial/cleaning services.

Action Point: Will you be ready if OHS inspectors show up at your workplace? Find out how to prevent OHS citations and machine injuries by implementing a legally sound Machine Guarding Compliance Game Plan at your workplace.

Heat Stress

Jul 1: Nearly half of all outdoor workers in Alberta are exposed to levels of daily exposure to above the international occupational exposure guideline of 1.3 times the standard erythemal dose, or SED, according to OHS Alberta, citing a 2020 study. Some workers in the study were exposed to levels up to 13 times higher than the recommended limit.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective Heat Stress Safety & Compliance Game Plan to protect your workers, whether they work outdoors or indoors.

Transportation Safety

Aug 8: Effective today, tow truck drivers who enter within a 200-metre exclusion radius around a collision scene to pitch their services will be subject to a $1,000 fine. The new rule is designed to crack down on predatory tow trucking practices, such as towing vehicles without consent, not providing necessary information to vehicle owners, and exploiting emotionally vulnerable individuals who’ve been involved in a collision.

New Laws

Jul 25: Alberta will provide $114.6 million in grant funding to help rural communities maintain and improve roads, bridges, community airports, water, and wastewater facilities. The money will be distributed through the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program, the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership, and Water for Life program. An additional $3.5-million grant will support an industrial rail extension project in Coaldale, which will enable local producers to transport southern Alberta-grown and manufactured goods to a global customer base in the agrifood processing sector.

Workplace Violence

Jul 14: Alberta’s newly launched Community Pathways to Justice program will provide $1.25 million in one-time grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 to community-based organizations and Indigenous communities for initiatives designed to prevent gender-based violence and support victims.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective domestic violence prevention and response policy at your workplace.

Workplace Violence

Jul 31: As part of its ongoing campaign to eradicate gender-based violence in the province, Alberta awarded $720,000 worth of grants to 3 community-led programs to promote “healthy relationships, emotional well-being and positive role modeling among men and boys.”

Mental Stress

Aug 7: Alberta announced that it’s tripling funding for initiatives to support the mental well-being of front-line continuing care staff to $7.5 million. Supports include counselling sessions, workload management training, and yoga classes.

Workers’ Comp

Jul 23: In recognition of the psychological stress faced by nurses, the Alberta WCB expanded the presumption that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is work-related for purposes of workers’ comp to registered nurses, certified graduate nurses, and graduate nurses who meet the criteria spelled out in newly amended Section 19.2 of the Workers’ Compensation Regulation. 

Action Point: Find out about workers’ comp coverage of PTSD and mental stress.

Workers’ Comp

Sep 29: That’s the deadline to comment on proposed changes to Alberta WCB Policy 04-10 that would simplify the application process for short-term home assistance, home maintenance allowances and housekeeping allowances for workers who can’t maintain their own homes due to functional limitations from covered work injuries.

Environmental

Sep 12: That’s the deadline to provide input on what Alberta should do to regulate plastics waste in the agricultural sector such as baler twine, grain bags, bale wrap, and silage plastic. Current recycling options for agricultural plastics are limited to certain materials and rely on voluntary approaches or pilot programs.

Environmental

Jul 21: The Governments of Canada and Alberta announced a joint investment of over $125 million in 2 Billion Trees (2BT) Program funding for 4 projects that will plant 12 million trees and restore critical habitats for species at risk in multiple sites across the province.

CASES

Respiratory Protection: Supplier Fined $330,000 for Sandblaster’s Carbon Monoxide Death

A respirator rental company was fined $330,000 for failing to ensure the use of proper respiratory protection equipment at a sandblasting site stemming from the carbon monoxide poisoning death of a worker using an air respirator equipped with a supplied air system while performing sandblasting work [NC Equipment Ltd., July 14, 2025].

Action Point: Don’t let this kind of tragedy happen to your workers! Find out how to implement a compliant Respiratory Protection Policy at your workplace.

Workplace Harassment: Left-Handedness Isn’t a Disability

An office worker filed a disability discrimination complaint against her ex-employer claiming she was harassed at work for being left-handed. The employer denied the charge and insisted that it furnished her special equipment and chair to accommodate her left-handedness. Besides, being a lefty isn’t a disability protected by human rights law. The Alberta Human Rights Commission agreed and tossed the complaint without a trial [Gueutal v L.M. Buckley Professional Corporation o/a Broadmoor Place Dental Center, 2025 AHRC 80 (CanLII), July 30, 2025].

Action Point: Although the employer won the case, it might have saved itself a lot of time, money and aggravation by preventing the complaint in the first place. Find out how to implement an effective Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention Compliance Game Plan at your site.

Workplace Violence: Punching Coworker in Face Is Grounds to Terminate Even for First Offence

A miner got fired for punching a coworker who insulted him in the face. The union claimed that termination for what amounted to a spur of the moment, isolated incident was too harsh a penalty given the worker’s 14 years of service and clean disciplinary record. But the Alberta arbitrator disagreed and rejected the grievance.  Workplace violence is a serious offence for which termination may be justified even if it’s just a first offence committed in response to provocation. Insults at work happen all the time and workers must work through their conflict with co-workers without engaging in violence. This is especially true at a safety-sensitive workplace like a mine. In addition, the worker’s unwillingness to accept responsibility for his misconduct increased the risk of its happening again [Suncor Energy Inc. v Unifor Local 707-A, 2025 CanLII 74911 (AB GAA), July 14, 2025].

Action Point: Find out what you should and shouldn’t do when dealing with a workplace violence incident at your workplace.

Fall Protection: Contractor Fined $210,000 for Fatal Roof Fall

A worker removing roofing materials suffered fatal injuries after falling through the roof to the floor below. The employer, an insulation and metal cladding contractor, was fined $210,000 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure that a worker at risk of falling 3 meters or more used a travel restraint system [Pacific Rim Industrial Insulations Ltd., Govt Press Release, August 1, 2025].

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound Fall Protection Compliance Game Plan at your site to prevent these kinds of fatalities and the fines they can lead to.