Increases to Maximum Fines Will Strengthen Compliance
Ontario is enhancing protection for workers by increasing the maximum fines for individuals and businesses that don’t meet workplace health and safety standards.
As of December 14, 2017, the maximum fines for an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety increased from:
- $25,000 to $100,000 for an individual or unincorporated business (which had not changed since 1979)
- $500,000 to $1,500,000 for corporations (which had not changed since 1990)
Ontario also changed the time limit to allow for prosecution, from one year from the date of the offence, to one year from the date an inspector becomes aware of an alleged offence.
Protecting workers and supporting business is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of Medicare in a generation.
Quick Facts
- In 2016-17, Ministry of Labour health and safety inspectors conducted more than 79,800 visits to more than 34,700 workplaces, and issued more than 118,000 orders because of non-compliance with Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
- In 2016, the courts imposed more than $11 million in fines and entered more than 2,200 convictions against workplace parties for contraventions of the OHSA and its regulations.
Additional Resources
Quotes
“Ontario has one of the best worker safety records in Canada. Despite this, people continue to lose their lives or get seriously injured in workplaces every day. By increasing the fines for non-compliance, we are sending a message to all employers and workers that we are serious about enforcing workplace health and safety.”
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