LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

OHS Enforcement

Jun 7: Since the new enforcement year began on April 1, 2026, Manitoba has carried out 1,579 WSH inspections and issued 107 Stop-Work Orders and 3,032 Individual Improvement Orders. There were also two reported OHS work refusals and 15 alleged reprisals.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an OHS inspections policy in case inspectors show up at your door.

Heat Stress

Jun 15: Manitoba WSH cautioned employers to be “proactive” about protecting workers from heat‑related risks. Rather than setting a maximum temperature at which work must stop, The Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSH Act) and regulations require employers to assess heat exposure considering both the work performed and environmental conditions, using American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) screening criteria.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective Heat Stress Safety & Compliance Game Plan at your workplace.

Infectious Illness

Jun 25: Public health officials in Manitoba called on residents to take precautions against Lyme disease and West Nile virus (WNV). Lyme disease is transmitted by blacklegged ticks, aka deer ticks. WNV is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe illness including encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and, in some cases, long-term complications or death. Infection can occur from a single bite by an infected mosquito.

Action Point: Find out how to use the OHS Insider Infection Exposure Control Plan template to prevent Lyme disease, WNV, and other infectious illness outbreaks at your workplace.

Transportation Safety

Jun 1: Manitoba passed legislation governing the use of low-powered personal electric vehicles such as electric kick-scooters, skateboards, self-balancing scooters, and unicycles, as well as three-wheeled vehicles. Bill 43 also clarifies that the use of an automated driving system is allowed only if it’s authorized under a pilot project or by a technology testing permit. It also requires all motor vehicles and trailers to be registered and plated even if a permit exempts it from weight and dimensions requirements.

New Laws

Jun 23: Manitoba launched the 2026 summer construction season with over $585 million in investments across 24 infrastructure projects designed to strengthen key trade corridors and improve driving safety. The largest project: construction of a new interchange at Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 100 and PTH 3 (McGillivray Boulevard), with an investment of more than $235 million to help ease congestion and improve traffic flow.

Training

Jun 5: The new Canada–Manitoba Workforce Tariff Response program announced that it will invest $18.2 million over three years to support workers and employers in sectors directly and indirectly affected by tariffs, including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade. This new funding will help over 2,100 workers in Manitoba build new skills across six targeted pathways, including direct employment services, skilled trades training, skills development training, self-employment supports, demand-led training partnerships, and employee training to help businesses retain and upskill their workforce.

New Laws

Jun 22: The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency announced that it’s providing over $96.8 million in funding to bring high-speed Internet access to up to 7,875 households in Manitoba through a Valler Fiber Ltd. project. Currently, 94.1% of Manitoba households have access to high-speed Internet of at least 50 megabits per second download and 10 megabits per second upload (50/10 Mbps+). That number is expected to increase to 97.1% by the end 2026.

New Laws

Jun 9: Manitoba launched the first two programs of its new youth employment strategy. NextMB will invest $3.5 million in youth aged 18 to 29 to support two streams: one for youth currently enrolled in post-secondary, apprenticeships or recent graduates, and another stream for youth not in education, employment or training (NEET). Dreambuilders will provide $800,000 in funding to assist youth aged 16 to 29 who are facing multiple barriers to securing meaningful, long-term employment.

Environmental

Jun 22: The federal government announced that it’s investing $21.6 million in projects that will transform how electricity is generated and managed in Sayisi Dene First Nation, located in the community of Tadoule Lake in northern Manitoba. This is the first phase of a First Nation–led initiative to develop Manitoba’s first integrated renewable energy microgrid, combining bifacial solar photovoltaic (PV) power and battery storage with a microgrid controller, to generate clean electricity. Once commissioned in fall 2026, the microgrid will reduce emissions by an estimated 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year while reducing community power costs over time.

CASES

Machine Safety: Unguarded Table Saw Blade Results in Thumb Injury, $45,000 Fine

A school worker suffered a thumb injury after contacting an unguarded table saw blade. The school division was fined $45,000 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure that a machine was equipped with safeguards to prevent a worker from coming into contact with a point of operation [Frontier School Division].

Action Point: Find out how to prevent these kinds of injuries by implementing a legally sound Machine Guarding Compliance Game Plan at your workplace.