Ontario Employing Largest Number of Labour Inspectors in Provincial History
Jay Smith
The Ontario government is launching a recruitment campaign to increase its team of frontline health and safety inspectors by 98 and help ensure workplaces across the province are doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP and Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton says the new hires will give Ontario more labour inspectors on the ground than ever before in the province’s history.
“Our government is taking the steps necessary to protect Ontario workers on the job and keep our economy on the road to full recovery,” says McNaughton. “By adding more inspectors to our team, we can respond faster to situations as they arise and help make sure that every office, plant, store and job site in this province is safe, during COVID-19 and beyond.
The hiring of these new workers will see the number of active inspectors in the province increase from 409 to 507, an increase of 24 per cent. Training is set to begin later this fall.
The province says the new inspectors will play a key role in protecting workers by checking and enforcing that workplaces are following occupational health and safety legislation. They will have broad powers to:
– inspect any workplace and ensure they have COVID protections in place;
– investigate any potentially hazardous situation, critical injury, fatality and work refusal;
– order compliance with the legislation;
– stop unsafe work from being performed; and
– recommend and initiate prosecutions.
The full-year cost for the new inspectors will be $11.6 million. Recruitment of the inspectors will begin in early October 2020. Applicants will have one month to apply.
“Nothing is more important than protecting the health and safety of our workers,” said Minister McNaughton. “By building the largest labour inspectorate in history, we’re in the best position to do just that.”
To help ensure that employers have the resources and equipment they need to keep their employees safe, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the government launched the Ontario Together PPE Directory. With listings for masks, sanitization, eye protection, gowns, gloves and sneeze guards, the directory is another tool to help keep everyone safe while on the job.
