LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fall Protection

Aug 18: Fall protection certification training requirements for working at heights of three metres or more are changing. Starting January 1, 2027, a new 8-hour Working at Heights training course will replace the 16-hour course. When certificates expire, workers must complete the new 8-hour course to renew certification. Certificates will still remain valid for three years.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound Fall Protection Compliance Game Plan at your site.

Transportation Safety

Sep 3: Public consultations ended on potential changes to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Highway Traffic Act to ensure the legislation remains effective. Issues on the table include e-bikes, e-scooters, and other micro-mobility devices, car and booster seats for children, bicycle safety for children, and driving schools.

Transportation

Jul 10: There are now 10 active speed cameras across the province. Locations include the Foxtrap Access Road Overpass construction site, the intersection of West Valley Road and Raymond Heights in Corner Brook, the Trans-Canada Highway in Deer Lake and Gander, the Elizabeth Goudie Building in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and Larkhall Street in St. John’s.

New Laws

Aug 1: The federal government announced funding to support the repair and reconstruction of the breakwater at the small craft harbour in Fortune, as well as dredging of the harbour basin at the small craft harbour in Burin, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Fortune project will improve the breakwater at the entrance to Fortune Harbour, enhancing its long-term resilience and helping protect the vital transportation and economic hub that supports local fisheries. The Burin project will restore safe navigational depths within the harbour basin by dredging accumulated sediment.

New Laws

Aug 27: The federal government announced $1 million in support for a $10 million investment to advance NordSpace’s Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in St. Lawrence. ASX is expected to host Canada's first commercial space launch vehicles and help secure Canada's sovereign access to space. The province is also contributing $4 million and NordSpace is investing $5 million of its own capital.

Privacy

Sep 1: From now through September 30, Newfoundland and Labrador will accept public comments as part of its review of the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA). Among the key issues is young people’s privacy rights and decision-making authority to ensure that the roles of young people, parents, or guardians and health-care providers are clearly addressed in decisions involving personal health information.

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

Workplace Violence

Aug 4: The federal government will provide $700,000 over the next five years to renew its support for gender-based violence crisis hotline and response services across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Action Point: Gender-based violence becomes an OHS compliance issue when it happens at the victim’s workplace. Bottom Line: You must incorporate protections against workplace domestic violence into your workplace violence prevention plan. Find out how to implement an effective Workplace Domestic Violence Prevention Plan to protect your own workers.

Environmental

Aug 17: The Governments of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Québec, and their respective Hydro utilities announced what is being described as the largest clean energy investment in the history of North America—a $10 billion package to expand clean electricity generation and transmission in Labrador via upgrades to Churchill Falls, development of the Gull Island hydroelectric project. The resulting infrastructure will enable the development of critical minerals in the Labrador Trough. Under the agreement, the federal government will guarantee the financing to develop the massive Gull Island power project.

CASES

There are no cases to report on for this month.