NEW CHANGES TO SAFETY ACT WILL BENEFIT WORKERS

The provincial government has passed a set of amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Workplace Safety and Insurance Act that will provide more protection for workers.
Bill 160 passed third reading in the Ontario Legislature on May 18. It is the largest revamp of Ontario's worker safety system in 30 years.
The changes will allow the government to appoint a chief prevention officer and create a prevention council with representatives from labour and employers.
The changes also mean the Ministry of Labour will now be the lead for accident prevention rather than the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
As a result of the amendments, the labour ministry will also now oversee the province's health and safety associations as well as the education, training and promotion of workplace health and safety.
Labour Minister Charles Sousa said the amendments are important because they promote worker safety.
"We all have the same goal - to make sure all workers go home safe and healthy at the end of the day," he said. "These amendments will help prevent injuries and create productive workplaces - and that's good news for all Ontarians."
The amendments are in response to recommendations provided by an Expert Panel on Occupational Health and Safety. The panel included representatives from labour, employers and academia with workplace health and safety expertise.
The Panel received more than 400 responses in over 50 meetings with stakeholders across the province.