What do Ontario's OHSA and Construction Projects regulation require?
On an Ontario construction project the constructor files a notice of project before work starts where the project meets a threshold, posts it, and keeps the site notices current. When someone is killed or critically injured, the inspector is told immediately and a written report follows within 48 hours. Lesser accidents and dangerous occurrences have their own written notices.
Who does what
- The constructor files the notice of project. File a notice of project with the Ministry before beginning work on a project that meets a threshold (OHSA s 23(2); reg 6(1)-(5)). Then, complete the approved registration form before beginning work at a project, and as constructor collect every employer's form and keep a copy on site (reg 5(1), (2)).
- The constructor keeps the site notices. Post at the project the constructor's name, head office and the nearest Ministry office, and add the health and safety representative or committee members within 48 hours of their selection (reg 13(1), (2)). Tunnel and suspended platform work each have a notice of their own, and so does trench work where no notice of project is needed.
- Incidents are reported. Notify an inspector, and the joint health and safety committee, health and safety representative and trade union, immediately when a person is killed or critically injured at a workplace (s 51(1), 66; O. Reg. 420/21 s 1(1)). A written report follows within 48 hours. Where nobody dies or is critically injured, an accident that disables a worker or needs medical attention gets written notice within 4 days (s 52(1)-(3), 66; O. Reg. 420/21 s 1(1), 3).
Contravening the Act or a regulation is an offence: an individual faces a fine of up to CAD 500,000, up to 12 months' imprisonment, or both, and a corporation a fine of up to CAD 2,000,000 (OHSA s 66(1), (2)).
Every duty the library holds from the two instruments
In the order the library holds them: the Construction Projects, O. Reg. 213/91 (Ontario) first, then the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1 (Ontario). Each is on its instrument's page too, with how it was read.
| Duty | Window and section | If missed |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the approved registration form before beginning work at a project, and as constructor collect every employer's form and keep a copy on site | none setreg 5(1), (2) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| File a notice of project with the Ministry before beginning work on a project that meets a threshold | none setOHSA s 23(2); reg 6(1)-(5) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Keep the completed notice of project posted in a conspicuous place at the project, or available there for an inspector | none setreg 6(6), 19 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Notify the nearest Ministry office before work begins on a project with an enterable trench over 1.2 metres deep, where no notice of project is required | none setreg 7 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Give the Ministry the approved notification form at least 48 hours before a suspended work platform system is first used at a project | 48 hoursreg 7.1 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| File a notice with a Director, with engineer-sealed drawings of the support system, before beginning work on a tunnel, shaft, caisson or cofferdam | none setreg 245 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Post at the project the constructor's name, head office and the nearest Ministry office, and add the health and safety representative or committee members within 48 hours of their selection | 48 hoursreg 13(1), (2) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Appoint a supervisor where five or more workers work at the same time, and have the supervisor inspect machinery, equipment and structures at least weekly | 7 daysreg 14(1)-(5), 15 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Establish written emergency procedures for the project, review them with the committee or representative, post them, and give every worker two-way communication | none setreg 17, 18 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Keep every record the regulation requires to be available at a project for at least one year after the project is finished | 12 monthsreg 19 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Notify an inspector, and the joint health and safety committee, health and safety representative and trade union, immediately when a person is killed or critically injured at a workplace | none sets 51(1), 66; O. Reg. 420/21 s 1(1) | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Send a Director, and the committee, representative and trade union, a written report within 48 hours after a person is killed or critically injured at a workplace | 48 hourss 51(1), 66; O. Reg. 420/21 s 3, 7 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Leave the wreckage and scene of a fatality or critical injury undisturbed until an inspector permits | none sets 51(2), 66 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Give written notice within 4 days when a worker is disabled from usual work or needs medical attention because of an accident, explosion, fire or workplace violence | 4 dayss 52(1)-(3), 66; O. Reg. 420/21 s 1(1), 3 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Give a Director, and the committee, representative and trade union, written notice within 2 days of a prescribed dangerous occurrence at a project site | 2 dayss 53(1), (2)(a), 66; O. Reg. 420/21 s 4 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Supplement the report or notice with an engineer's written opinion on the cause within 14 days after a failure of works, a structure, an engineered excavation wall or a crane | 14 daysOHSA s 53.1; O. Reg. 420/21 s 5 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
| Keep a copy of every written report or notice under sections 51 to 53.1 for at least 3 years | 36 monthsO. Reg. 420/21 s 6 | an offenceLapsed compliance |
In this guide
- Notice of projectWhen the constructor must file a notice of project in Ontario under O. Reg. 213/91: the CAD 50,000 threshold and the others, filing, posting and registration.
- Incident noticesOntario's OHSA incident notices: critical injuries at once, a written report within 48 hours, accident notice within 4 days, project incidents within 2 days.
- Other site noticesOther Ontario site notices: trench and tunnel notices, 48 hours before a suspended platform is used, the constructor's site notice and weekly inspections.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds for Ontario's Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 (Ontario), the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1 (Ontario) and Construction Projects, O. Reg. 213/91 (Ontario), with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Acts, the regulations and the contract you signed.
Demiton does not yet track Ontario projects. These pages set out the duties; the product does not run these checks on an Ontario job today.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.