Occupational safety and health country profile: Canada

In Canada occupational safety and health constitutes a provincial/territorial responsability.

International labour standards

  1. NORMLEX

    Ratification of ILO conventions

    Database on international labour standards

    Provides access to the latest information on ILO international labour standards on OSH (such as ratification information, reporting requirements, comments of the ILO's supervisory bodies, etc.).

Policies and programmes

Laws and regulations

  1. LEGOSH

    National regulatory framework

    Global database on OSH legislation

    Provides a picture of the regulatory framework of the main elements of OSH legislation. Contains comprehensive legal information and analysis.

  2. OSH laws and regulations fall under provincial and territorial jurisdictions, but many basic elements (e.g. workers’, employers’ and supervisors’ rights and responsibilities) are similar in all provinces and territories.

  3. NATLEX

    National legislation

    National labour legislation database

    Includes abstracts of OSH legislation and citation information. Full text of laws or a relevant source is linked to the records, when available.

  4. Main laws in the Province of Quebec

    1. Act respecting occupational health and safety (AOHS) (R.S.Q., c. S-2.1), 1979
    2. An Act respecting industrial accident and occupational diseases (AIAOD) (R.S.Q., c. A-3.001), 1985
    3. Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) (R.S.Q., c. A-3), 1931
    4. An Act respecting indemnities for victims of asbestosis and silicosis in mines and quarries (R.S.Q., c. I-7), 1975
    5. Crime Victims Compensation Act (R.S.Q., c. I-6), 1972
    6. Regulation respecting occupational health and safety (R.S.Q. c. S-2.1), 2001
    7. Other regulations

Statistics

  1. ILOSTAT

    Occupational injuries

    Database of labour statistics

    Contains annual data collected mainly through the ILO yearly questionnaire. It covers a wide range of topics including occupational injuries.

Authorities and bodies

  1. Responsible authorities

    The Minister of Labour is responsible for the overall administration and enforcement of the Labour Code. No specified institution or agency has general administrative power - each undertakes its own specified functions under the Labour Code and other OSH legislation.

  2. Authorities in the Province of Quebec

    The name of the government department responsible varies with each jurisdiction. In Quebec, as well as in most of the provinces, it is the Ministry or Department of Labour.