OHS Insider Newsletter – November 2026

The November 2026 OHS Insider focuses on several risks that become especially important as organizations move into winter and year-end operations, including worker fatigue, ventilation, warehouse traffic safety and changing regulatory requirements across Canada.

What’s Inside

Worker Fatigue

Schedule changes, rotating shifts, overtime and reduced recovery time can impair judgment, reaction time, concentration and coordination. The newsletter explains why fatigue should be treated as a safety risk, not simply a scheduling issue.

Employers should monitor warning signs, avoid abrupt schedule changes where possible, provide adequate recovery time and track overtime, consecutive shifts, near misses and fatigue reports.

Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality

Simply having a functioning HVAC system doesn’t necessarily mean workplace ventilation is adequate.

Changes in production, occupancy, chemicals, equipment or building layout can affect air quality. Employers should conduct field reviews, respond to worker complaints and determine whether local exhaust ventilation or a formal indoor air quality assessment is required.

Warehouse Traffic Control

Forklift-pedestrian collisions continue to present serious risks.

The newsletter outlines essential traffic-control practices, including designated pedestrian walkways, controlled crossings, forklift travel routes, speed limits, blind-corner procedures and specific rules for workers entering powered-equipment operating areas.

Canadian OHS Developments

The Month-in-Review highlights several developments across Canada, including:

• Proposed new workplace harassment and violence requirements in British Columbia
• New menstrual-product requirements in Manitoba workplaces
• Changes to fall-protection certification training in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Increased environmental penalties in Québec
• Transportation enforcement activity in Alberta
• Workers’ compensation premium reductions in Nova Scotia

Recent Cases and Enforcement

This month’s cases reinforce several important compliance lessons.

A safety-sensitive airport worker’s termination was upheld after he turned off his radio and went to sleep while on duty.

In another case, an Alberta employer was acquitted of 10 OHS charges following a fatal incident because it could demonstrate a comprehensive safety program, regular audits, training and formal tracking of safety performance.

A $4.5 million workplace harassment settlement involving WestJet also highlights the importance of having effective reporting, investigation and prevention systems.

Another case demonstrates that employers that have historically failed to enforce safety rules may have difficulty imposing serious discipline when future violations occur.

Key Takeaways for OHS Managers

• Treat fatigue as a workplace hazard.
• Review schedules, overtime and recovery time.
• Verify that ventilation still matches current workplace conditions.
• Investigate worker air-quality complaints.
• Separate pedestrians and powered mobile equipment wherever possible.
• Establish clear traffic rules for crossings, intersections and blind corners.
• Enforce safety rules consistently.
• Document audits, training, corrective action and safety performance.
• Review harassment and violence prevention programs.
• Monitor regulatory developments in your jurisdiction.

Bottom Line

November’s message is about verification. Don’t assume schedules are safe, ventilation is adequate, traffic controls are working or policies are being followed. Check what is actually happening in the workplace, document what you find and address gaps before they result in an incident.