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Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Canada (RATIFICATION: 2019)

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 12(1)(a). Right of inspectors to enter workplaces freely. Timing of inspections. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, at the federal level, sections 141(1)(a) and 249(3) of the Canada Labour Code, concerning the exercise of powers in relation to health and safety, provide that the Head of Compliance and Enforcement may, in carrying out the Head’s duties and at any reasonable time, enter any workplace controlled by an employer and, in respect of any workplace, may conduct examinations, tests, inquiries, investigations and inspections or direct the employer to conduct them. The Committee notes that provisions establishing the power of labour inspectors to enter workplaces at a reasonable time, can also be found in Québec (section 109(1) of the Act respecting labour standards and section 179 of the Act respecting occupational health and safety); Alberta (section 77 (2) of the Employment Standards Code and section 34 of the OSH Act); British Columbia (section 75(2) of the Workers’ Compensation Act); and Manitoba (section 24(1) of the Workplace Safety and Health Act). In addition, the Committee notes that section 91(2) of the Employment Standards Act of Ontario indicates that the power to enter and inspect a place without a warrant may be exercised only during the place’s regular business hours or, if it does not have regular business hours, during daylight hours. Moreover, in British Columbia, section 85 of the Employment Standards Act provides that an inspector may enter during regular working hours any place where work is or has been done or started by employees, or where an employer carries on business or stores assets relating to that business. Recalling that pursuant to Article 12(1)(a) labour inspectors with proper credentials shall be empowered to enter workplaces liable to inspection at any hour of the day or night, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the above-mentioned provisions of the federal and provincial laws, including the proportion of unannounced inspections in relation to total labour inspections under the different statutory provisions.

Article 14. Notification of accidents and diseases. The Committee notes that procedures for notification of occupational accidents is established at the federal, provincial and territorial level of government. The Committee also notes that the duty of notification of occupational diseases is provided in the legislation of Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which labour inspectors are notified of occupational diseases at the federal level and in the remaining provinces and territories, and to provide statistics on the number of recorded industrial accidents and diseases under the different statutory provisions.

Article 15(c) and 16. Sufficient number of inspection visits and duty of confidentiality of the source of any complaint. The Committee notes that according to the Government report, in Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan employment standards inspections are conducted mainly or exclusively on the basis of a complaint or tip-off of non-compliance. In this context, the Committee has emphasized that a sufficient number of routine inspections is necessary to ensure that labour inspectors comply with the obligation to treat complaints as confidential with a view to preventing the employer from detecting any link between the inspection and the likelihood of a complaint, identifying the person responsible for the complaint, and taking reprisals against that person (Article 15(c)). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted in order to ensure that no intimation is given to the employer or their representative that a visit of inspection was made in consequence of the receipt of a complaint, in accordance with Article 15(c). It also requests the Government to provide information on the nature and frequency of inspections conducted in British Columbia. Further, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of unannounced inspections that resulted from a complaint, the number that resulted from an accident, and the number that were not the result of a complaint or an accident, at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.

Articles 20 and 21. Annual report on the work of the inspection services. The Committee notes that the Government provides a list of weblinks to annual reports and webpages on occupational safety and health statistics at the federal level and for the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia. The Committee notes that the 2019 annual report on occupational injuries amongst employees at the federal level contains information on fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries. For Alberta, the health and safety statistics provide annual statistical information of workplace injuries, diseases and fatalities. In British Columbia, the WorkSafeBC Annual Report includes statistics on the number of employers and workers covered, claims in relation to occupational accidents and diseases, inspection visits, number and nature of orders issued by inspectors, enforcement measures adopted and penalties imposed, and number of incidents investigations. The Safework Manitoba Injury and Illness Statistics contains information on occupational injuries and diseases, while the overview of the Manitoba workplace enforcement activities on the Government’s webpage provides the number of inspection activities and of the enforcement measures adopted (such as orders with immediate executory force and improvement orders). In Ontario, the occupational health and safety compliance overview on the webpage of the Government provides statistics on the number of OSH inspections and of orders issued. It also contains statistics on critical injuries and fatalities in the construction, health, industry and mining sectors. The Committee requests the Government to publish and provide annual reports to the ILO on the activities of the labour inspectorates in the field of employment standards and OSH at the federal, provincial and territorial level. It requests the Government to ensure that these reports contain information on all the subjects listed in Article 21(a)–(g) of Convention No. 81.