Province Committed to Protecting Vulnerable Workers

Ontario Launching More Than 20 Workplace Blitzes to Enhance Workplace Safety

Ontario will help protect workers on the job by launching more than 20 targeted blitzes at workplaces across the province over the next year. From May 2, 2016 to March 31, 2017, Ministry of Labour inspectors will visit workplaces such as food services, retail stores, construction sites and mines to investigate potential violations of Ontario's employment standards and occupational health and safety laws. In particular, sectors with vulnerable workers and a history of violations will be targeted.

To help ensure workers are also receiving what they are owed, employment standards officers will check for violations that could affect the pay, overtime and work hours of:

• temporary foreign workers
• young workers and
• employees of repeat violators 

These initiatives are part of the government's commitment to protecting workers and ensuring they are safe and treated fairly at Ontario workplaces.

QUOTES

" Ontario has one of the best safety records in Canada, and we should all be proud. Every worker has the right to work in a healthy, safe and fair workplace. Targeted blitz programs like these increase awareness, compliance and overall safety among workers and employers throughout the province. Our goal at the Ministry of Labour is to ensure that workers in Ontario are treated fairly by their employers and return home safely at the end of the day."
- Kevin Flynn
Minister of Labour

QUICK FACTS

• Violations could include falls hazards, electrical hazards, and chemical handling.
• Blitzes are part of Ontario’s enforcement strategy to increase compliance with the Employment Standards Act, 2000, Occupational Health and Safety Act and their regulations.
• Since 2005, more than $144 million in wages and other money owed to employees has been recovered through inspections, claims and collections.
• Since 2008, Ministry of Labour occupational health and safety inspectors have conducted more than 620,000 field visits, and 79 provincial inspection blitzes.
• Inspectors have issued more than one million compliance orders for safety issues across all sectors in Ontario since June 2008.

LEARN MORE

• Blitz schedule for 2016 – 2017
• Ontario’s 2016-2017 occupational health and safety blitzes
• Workplace safety plans for each sector
• Ontario’s 2016-2017 employment standards blitzes