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Month In Review – Federal

LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

WHMIS

Newly effective Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) require truck, shipping, railway and other operations to enter TDGR information about their sites and the dangerous goods they transport and handle into a new federal Client Identification Database and update the information annually or risk penalties and criminal prosecution for noncompliance.

New Laws

The federal government published a report recommending long-term measures for strengthening the Canadian immigration system, including development of a new Francophone Immigration Policy and integrating housing, healthcare and infrastructure planning into the process of setting immigration levels.

New Laws

The federal government extended Temporary Foreign Worker Program relief measures designed to ease the labour shortage that were initially announced in April 2022 through August 30, 2024, including: i. letting employers in 7 key sectors to hire up to 30% of their workers through the TFW Program for positions under the provincial median hourly wage; ii. keeping the maximum duration for such positions at up to 2 years; and iii. adjusting the Labour Market Impact Assessment validity period maximum from 18 to 12 months.

Workplace Violence

Bill S-12, providing for automatic entry of child sex offenders and repeat sex offenders into the National Sex Offender Registry, received Royal Assent and is now in effect. The legislation also makes it easier for victims of sexual crimes to lift the normal ban on publication designed to protect their privacy in instances when victims want the information to be made publicly available.

Action Point: Use the extensive resources on the OHSI Workplace Violence Compliance Center to protect your workers from violence and harassment

Drugs & Alcohol

Online consultations reviewing the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act as part of a wider proposed plan to cut nationwide consumption of tobacco and vaping products to less than 5% of the population by 2035 came to an end.

Action Point: Use the OHSI Substance Abuse Compliance Game Plan to curb drugs and alcohol at your workplace

Accessibility

The federal government will provide up to $3 million per project in Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) for new construction, renovation and retrofit projects to make workplaces and other public places with active waiting lists more accessible to persons with disabilities to help wait list members gain access faster. Deadline to apply: December 13.

Action Point: Find out more about how accessibility requirements affect your OHS program

CASES

Drugs & Alcohol: Court Temporarily Bars Random Drug Testing of Nuclear Plant Workers

The unions asked a federal court to ‘stay,’ that is, bar enforcement of new Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) regulations requiring nuclear power plants to perform random, post-incident, reasonable cause and pre-assignment alcohol and drug testing on safety-sensitive and safety-critical workers. The court said no, and the unions appealed. Persistence paid off as the Federal Court of Appeal has now granted the stay, pending the outcome of litigation challenging the rule’s constitutionality, finding that letting CNSC enforce the regulations would result in potentially irreparable harm without significantly reducing the risks of a nuclear incident [Power Workers’ Union v. Canada (Attorney General), 2023 FCA 215 (CanLII), October 27, 2023].

Action Point: Create a legally sound drugs and alcohol testing policy for your workplace

Back Safety: Not Disclosing Back Condition Is Just Cause to Fire Worker from Lifting Position

Air Canada fired a station attendant for failing to disclose his pre-existing chronic back pain condition during the hiring process. The federal arbitrator tossed the union’s grievance, noting that the position required heavy lifting and that the attendant could and should have notified the company of his condition during the preemployment medical assessment. The attendant’s contention that he didn’t know about the condition until after he was hired fell on deaf ears, given that he had suffered from back pain for 15 years [International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 140 (IAMAW) v Air Canada, 2023 CanLII 92382 (CA LA), October 6, 2023].