In Important Decision, Ontario Appeal Court Says That General Duty Clause In OHSA Can Impose Higher Obligations Than Specific Requirements In Regulations

The Ministry of Labour can prosecute employers under the "general duty" clause of the Occupational Health and Safety Act even where the charges impose obligations that are greater than those set out in the regulations under the OHSA, the Ontario Court of Appeal has decided.

In this case, a trial and appeal justice had decided that the employer could not be found guilty of failing to provide guardrails around a temporary work platform. They reasoned that the applicable regulation under the OHSA ("Industrial Establishments"), which dealt with the issue of guardrails, did not require guardrails in this particular situation (a temporary work platform at a height of six feet). As such, the lower courts held that the MOL could not use the "general duty" requirement found in s. 25(2)(h) of the OHSA...