Excerpt from the Ontario Government’s ‘Newsroom’
Ventra Group Co., a Nova Scotia manufacturer of vehicle parts carrying on business as Veltri Canada – Howard Division in Ontario, was fined $65,000 on August 11, 2009, for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was injured.
Section 26.3, subsection (3) states,
“The guardrail system or protective covering required under subsection (1) or (2) may be removed temporarily to perform work in or around the opening if a worker is adequately protected and signs are posted in accordance with subsections 44(1) and (2).”
Excerpt from the Government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
Star Ornamental Company Ltd., a Stoney Creek metal fabricator, was fined $75,000 on July 27, 2009, for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was critically injured.
It is not just that the law says that certain organizations must have JHSCs (joint health and safety committees) , the legal driving force behind the committee is ‘Due Diligence’. A company or individual that fails to establish a legally-required JHSC has no chance of making out a due diligence defence. The result is exposure to liability under OHS laws and even criminal liability under Bill C-45.