Ontario announces additional safety funding; updates working at heights

stock photo working at heights
©CAN STOCK PHOTO/WELCOMIA

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The Province of Ontario is updating mandatory working at heights training programs and increasing funding to safety associations by $12.5 million.

Working at heights training providers have until April 1, 2024 to update their programs and ensure they fulfill the requirements of the revised working at heights training program and training provider standards.

“Every worker in Ontario deserves to come home safely to their family at the end of their shift,” said Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development. “In addition to recently raising fines for occupational health and safety violations to the highest level in the country, our government will continue to invest in education, prevention and enforcement to ensure every worker in Ontario has the protections they deserve.”

Associations receiving funding provided more than 64,000 training sessions last year. They include:

  • Infrastructure Health & Safety Association
  • Public Services Health & Safety Association
  • Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
  • Workplace Safety North; Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
  • Workers Health and Safety Centre

Updates are expected to improve safety knowledge of participants when working in various settings, including with ladders, skylights and damaged equipment.

Over one million workers have completed working at heights training in the province since it began in 2015.

“The government’s continued investment into the upkeep and advancement of preventative education and training ensures that workers are better informed and prepared on construction sites,” Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) president Giovanni Cautillo said in a statement.

“Updating the standards for mandatory working at heights training will directly translate into saving workers from potential exposure to incidents and accidents.”

Other industry leaders’s comments provided in the government news release incluided:

Adam Melnick, director of Canadian Affairs, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers:

“We applaud Minister McNaughton’s continued efforts to improve education, prevention and enforcement with respect to health and safety in the workplace. Today’s announcement about mandatory working at heights training is a continuation of the government’s commitment to ensure every worker in Ontario is getting the protections they deserve.”

Blair Allin, Canadian Health and Safety Representative, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers:

“The continuous process of reviewing the working at heights training standard helps ensure all workers are given the correct knowledge to work safely. With this knowledge, workers and employers can implement controls to ensure EVERYONE makes it home safe at the end of the day.”

Andrew Pariser, vice-president, Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON)

“Safety is the foundation the residential sector builds on and RESCON fully supports the investment in health and safety associations and updating the working at heights training. Industry best practices have and will continue to reduce the number of fatalities and critical injuries in Ontario. We owe it to all workers and their families to continuously improve our health and safety systems.”

Adam Bridgman, Director of Training, Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario:

“At the Carpenters’ Union, we know that investments in workplace health and safety are critical to ensuring all workers come home to their loved ones at the end of the day. Expanding our safety training and resources will offer better protections to workers, and we are fully supportive of the continued effort by this Government to keep those that are building the future of our province safe.”

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