LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Accessibility

Dec 3: Accessibility Standards Canada issued a landmark standard outlining best practices for making workplaces accessible to the disabled. CAN/ASC-1.1:2024 covers all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, retention, career development and promotion, performance management, redeployment, compensation, and job exit.

Action Point: Although it’s voluntary, elements of the CAN/ASC standard may be incorporated by reference into accessibility laws. So, you need to understand how accessibility laws affect your OHS program by ensuring that your workplace emergency response plan accounts for the disabled.

Infectious Illnesses

Nov 13: The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed a human case of avian influenza (also known as bird flu) caused by influenza A(H5N1) virus in Canada. Reported in B.C., this is the first domestically acquired human case of H5N1 avian influenza.

Action Point: Find out how to use the OHS Insider Infection Exposure Control Plan to protect workers from H5N1 and other infectious diseases.

Transportation Safety

Dec 9: The federal government announced that the Enhanced Road Safety Transfer Payment Program will provide nearly $15 million in funding for 35 new projects across Canada designed to improve road safety including programs focusing on driver assistance systems, alcohol and drug-impaired, distracted, and winter driving.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective Winter Driving Safety & Compliance Game Plan for your workers.

New Laws

Dec 19: The Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes (CBHCC) closed comments on proposed changes to the 2020 National Model Codes, including the National Building Code of Canada, National Fire Code of Canada, National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings, and National Plumbing Code of Canada.

New Laws

Nov 13: The federal Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) Program will provide over $9 million in funding to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Canadian District to support efforts to help 1,500 internationally trained skilled workers achieve certification in carpentry, welding, millwright, and other Red Seal trades.

New Laws

Dec 19: That’s the deadline for non-profits and private employers with 50 or fewer full-time employees to apply for Canada Summer Jobs program funding for 2025. This year’s program prioritizes employers who hire youth with disabilities, black and other racialized youth, Indigenous youth, 2SLGBTQI+ youth, youth in rural and remote areas, and youth in official language minority communities.

New Laws

Dec 11: The federal government is moving to enact new legislation (Bill C-78) to help Canadians afford holiday season and new year expenses by suspending GST/HST taxes on essentials, like groceries, restaurant meals, drinks, snacks, children’s clothing, and gifts from December 14, 2024, through February 15, 2025.

Privacy

Nov 12: The federal government created a new agency called the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (CAISI) to help establish rules for safe and responsible use of AI by the research and business communities. CAISI will collaborate with safety institutes in other countries as part of the new International Network of AI Safety Institutes.

Action Point: Find out how privacy laws affect workplace safety.

CASES

Discipline/Work Refusal/Retaliation: Maximum Security Prison Guards Brought Firearm Work Refusal in Bad Faith

Maximum security prison guards initiated an OHS work refusal over a policy change requiring them to escort inmates without using C8 Carbine rifles contending that non-lethal weapons weren’t enough to protect them from inmate violence risks. The government OHS official rejected the refusal without investigating the case, finding that the guards brough the work refusal in bad faith without constructively collaborating with management. The federal appeals court ruled that it was reasonable for the OHS investigator to find work refusal invalid without doing an investigation [Duiker v. Canada (Attorney General), 2024 FCA 195 (CanLII), November 21, 2024].

Action Point: This case illustrates that the validity of work refusals often turns not on whether the danger is real but on how the respective sides actually carry out the refusal process. That’s why it’s vital to implement an OHS Work Refusals Response & Compliance Game Plan at your own workplace.

Drugs & Alcohol: Positive Marijuana/Cocaine Test Doesn’t Prove Worker Was Impaired

A Canadian Railway worker had to undergo post-incident drug testing after driving a Stake Truck into a car, resulting in minor damage to both vehicles but no injuries. The tests came back positive for marijuana and cocaine but at low levels inadequate to prove impairment. The worker admitted to using the drugs 4 or 5 days before while he was off duty, but insisted that the buzz was long gone and that he wasn’t impaired at work. CR fired him for violating its anti-drug policy and the union objected. The federal arbitrator upheld the grievance and ordered reinstatement without loss of seniority. A positive drug test by itself isn’t just cause to terminate unless it proves that the worker was impaired. At 2 ng/ml of THC, worker’s oral swab test was far below the minimum 10 ng/ml required to show impairment by marijuana; and while the urine tests were positive for cocaine, CR arbitrators have taken “the consistent view” that “urine testing results, standing alone, cannot be determinative of impairment” [Canadian Pacific Kansas Railway v Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employee Division, 2024 CanLII 121061 (CA LA), November 21, 2024].

Action Point: Find out how to create a legally sound Drugs and Alcohol Testing Policy for your workplace.

Workplace Harassment: Company Can’t Prove ‘Authoritarian’ Ship Captain Deserved to Be Fired

An oil transport company fired one of its ship captains for an alleged “authoritarian leadership style” that made life on board the vessel “difficult to bear.” But the arbitrator ruled that termination amounted to unjust dismissal, finding that the company didn’t meet its burden of proving that the captain’s personality made him incapable of establishing “courteous and productive interpersonal relationships” with crew members. The federal court concluded that the arbitrator’s decision was reasonable and refused to overturn it [Desgagnés Marine Petro Inc. c. Broudic, 2024 FCA 178 (CanLII), October 31, 2024].

Action Point: Use the Bill C-65 compliance checklist to avoid Canada Labour Code workplace violence and harassment violations.