Bill C-97

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First Reading

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R.S., c. 24 (3rd Supp.), s. 5	6. (1) The portion of section 125.1 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Further specific duties of employer	125.1 Without restricting the generality of section 124 or limiting the duties of an employer under section 125 but subject to any exceptions that may be prescribed, every employer shall, in respect of every work place controlled by the employer and, in respect of every work activity carried out by an employee in a work place that is not controlled by the employer, to the extent that the employer controls the activity ,
R.S., c. 24 (3rd Supp.), s. 5	(2) Paragraphs 125.1(a) to (d) of the French version of the Act are replaced by the following:
	a) de veiller à ce que les concentrations des substances dangereuses se trouvant au lieu de travail soient contrôlées conformément aux normes réglementaires;
	b) de veiller à ce que les substances dangereuses se trouvant au lieu de travail soient entreposées et manipulées conformément aux règlements;
	c) de veiller à ce que les substances dangereuses , à l'exclusion des produits contrôlés, se trouvant au lieu de travail soient identifiées conformément aux règlements;
	d) sous réserve de la Loi sur le contrôle des renseignements relatifs aux matières dangereuses, de veiller à ce que les produits contrôlés, ou les contenants d'emballage de ces produits, se trouvant au lieu de travail soient étiquetés de manière à divulguer les renseignements réglementaires et à afficher les signaux de danger réglementaires pertinents;
R.S., c. 24 (3rd Supp.), s. 5; 1993, c. 42, s. 5(F)	(3) Section 125.1 of the Act is amended by striking out the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (d) and by replacing paragraph (e) with the following:
	(e) subject to the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act, make available, in the prescribed manner, to every employee a material safety data sheet, with respect to each controlled product to which the employee may be exposed , that discloses the following information, namely,
	(i) if the controlled product is a pure substance, the chemical identity of the controlled product, and if the controlled product is not a pure substance, the chemical identity of any ingredient of it that is a controlled product and the concentration of that ingredient,
	(ii) if the controlled product contains an ingredient that is included in the Ingredient Disclosure List and the ingredient is in a concentration that is equal to or greater than the concentration specified in the Ingredient Disclosure List for that ingredient, the chemical identity and concentration of that ingredient,
	(iii) the chemical identity of any ingredient of the controlled product that the employer believes on reasonable grounds may be harmful to an employee and the concentration of that ingredient,
	(iv) the chemical identity of any ingredient of the controlled product the toxicological properties of which are not known to the employer and the concentration of that ingredient, and
	(v) any other information with respect to the controlled product that may be prescribed;
	(f) identify and assess, with the assistance of the work place committee or the health and safety representative, the concentration and level of hazardous substances to which employees may be exposed; and
	(g) ensure that all records of exposure to hazardous substances are kept and maintained in the prescribed manner and that personal records of exposure are made available to the affected employees.
R.S., c. 24 (3rd Supp.), s. 5	7. Subsection 125.2(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Employer to provide information in emergency	125.2 (1) An employer shall, in respect of every work place controlled by the employer, and in respect of every work activity carried out by an employee in a work place that is not controlled by the employer, to the extent that the employer controls that activity, provide, in respect of any controlled product to which an employee may be exposed, as soon as is practicable in the circumstances, any information referred to in paragraph 125.1(e) that is in the employer's possession to any physician or other prescribed medical professional who requests that information for the purpose of making a medical diagnosis of, or rendering medical treatment to, an employee in an emergency.
R.S., c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4; 1993, c. 42, s. 6(F)	8. Section 126 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Health and safety matters	126. (1) While at work, every employee shall
	(a) use any safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing that are intended for the employee's protection and furnished to the employee by the employer or that are prescribed;
	(b) follow prescribed procedures with respect to the health and safety of employees;
	(c) take all reasonable and necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of the employee, the other employees and any person likely to be affected by the employee's acts or omissions;
	(d) comply with all instructions from the employer concerning the health and safety of employees;
	(e) cooperate with any person exercising a duty imposed under this Part;
	(f) cooperate with the policy and work place committees or the health and safety representative;
	(g) report to the employer any thing or circumstance in a work place that is likely to be hazardous to the health or safety of the employee, or that of the other employees or other persons granted access to the work place by the employer;
	(h) report in the prescribed manner every accident or other occurrence arising in the course of or in connection with the employee's work that has caused injury to the employee or to any other person;
	(i) comply with every oral or written direction of a health and safety officer and appeals officer concerning the health and safety of employees;
	(j) report to the employer any situation that the employee believes to be a contravention of this Part; and
	(k) take all prescribed examinations, tests and X-rays.
No relief of employer's duties	(2) Nothing in subsection (1) relieves an employer from any duty imposed on the employer under this Part.
Limitation of liability	(3) No employee is personally liable for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith by the employee when the employee is assisting the employer, as requested by the employer, in carrying out the employer's duties under this Part.
R.S., c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4	9. The portion of subsection 127(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Interference at accident scene prohibited	127. (1) Subject to subsection (2), if an employee is killed or seriously injured in a work place, no person shall, unless authorized to do so by a health and safety officer, remove or in any way interfere with or disturb any wreckage, article or thing related to the incident except to the extent necessary to
R.S., c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4, c. 26 (4th Supp.), s. 2; 1993, c. 42, ss. 7(F), 8(F)	10. Sections 128 to 137 of the Act are replaced by the following:
	Internal Complaint Resolution Process
Complaint to supervisor	127.1 (1) An employee who believes on reasonable grounds that there has been a contravention of this Part or that there is likely to be an accident or injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of employment shall, before exercising any other recourse available under this Part, except the rights conferred by sections 128, 129 and 132, make a complaint to the employee's supervisor.
Settle complaint	(2) The employee and the supervisor shall try to settle the complaint between themselves as soon as possible.
Investigation of complaint	(3) The employee or the supervisor may refer an unresolved complaint to a chairperson of the work place committee or to the health and safety representative to be investigated jointly
	(a) by an employee member and an employer member of the work place committee; or
	(b) by the health and safety representative and a person designated by the employer.
Notice	(4) The persons who investigate the complaint shall inform the employee and the employer of the results of the investigation, in writing.
Recommen- dations	(5) Whether or not the persons who investigate a complaint conclude that the complaint is justified, they may make recommendations to the employer with respect to the situation that gave rise to the complaint.
Employer's duty	(6) If the persons who investigate the complaint conclude that the complaint is justified, the employer, on being informed of the results of the investigation, shall inform the persons who investigated the complaint in writing of how and when the employer will resolve the matter, and the employer shall resolve the matter accordingly.
Stoppage of activity	(7) If the persons who investigate the complaint conclude that a danger exists as described in subsection 128(1), they may order the employer in writing to ensure that no employee may use or operate the machine or thing, work in the place or perform the activity, that constituted the danger until the situation is rectified.
Referral to health and safety officer	(8) The employee or employer may refer a complaint that there has been a contravention of this Part to a health and safety officer in the following circumstances:
	(a) the employer does not agree with the results of the investigation;
	(b) the employer has failed to inform the persons who investigated the complaint of how and when the employer intends to resolve the matter or has failed to take action to resolve the matter; or
	(c) the persons who investigated the complaint do not agree between themselves as to whether the complaint is justified.
Investigation by health and safety officer	(9) The health and safety officer shall investigate, or cause another health and safety officer to investigate, the complaint referred to the officer under subsection (8).
Duty and power of health and safety officer	(10) On completion of the investigation, the health and safety officer
	(a) may give directions to an employer or employee under subsection 145(1);
	(b) may, if in the officer's opinion it is appropriate, recommend that the employee and employer resolve the matter between themselves; or
	(c) shall, if the officer concludes that a danger exists as described in subsection 128(1), give a direction under subsection 145(2).
Interpreta- tion	(11) For greater certainty, nothing in this section limits a health and safety officer's authority under section 145.
Refusal to work if danger	128. (1) Subject to this section, an employee may refuse to use or operate a machine or thing, to work in a place or to perform an activity, if the employee while at work has reasonable cause to believe that
	(a) the use or operation of the machine or thing constitutes a danger to the employee or to another employee;
	(b) a condition exists in the place that constitutes a danger to the employee; or
	(c) the performance of the activity by the employee constitutes a danger to the employee or to another employee.
No refusal permitted in certain dangerous circumstances	(2) An employee may not, under this section, refuse to use or operate a machine or thing, to work in a place or to perform an activity if
	(a) the refusal puts the life, health or safety of another person directly in danger; or
	(b) the danger referred to in subsection (1) is a normal condition of employment.
Employees on ships and aircraft	(3) If an employee on a ship or an aircraft that is in operation has reasonable cause to believe that
	(a) the use or operation of a machine or thing on the ship or aircraft constitutes a danger to the employee or to another employee,
	(b) a condition exists in a place on the ship or aircraft that constitutes a danger to the employee, or
	(c) the performance of an activity on the ship or aircraft by the employee constitutes a danger to the employee or to another employee,
	the employee shall immediately notify the person in charge of the ship or aircraft of the circumstances of the danger and the person in charge shall, as soon as is practicable after having been so notified , having regard to the safe operation of the ship or aircraft, decide whether or not the employee may discontinue the use or operation of the machine or thing or cease working in that place or performing that activity and shall inform the employee ac cordingly.
No refusal permitted in certain cases	(4) An employee who, under subsection (3), is informed that the employee may not discontinue the use or operation of a machine or thing or cease to work in a place or to perform an activity shall not, while the ship or aircraft on which the employee is employed is in operation, refuse under this section to operate the machine or thing, to work in that place or to perform that activity .
When ship or aircraft in operation	(5) For the purposes of subsections (3) and (4),
	(a) a ship is in operation from the time it casts off from a wharf in a Canadian or foreign port until it is next secured alongside a wharf in Canada; and
	(b) an aircraft is in operation from the time it first moves under its own power for the purpose of taking off from a Canadian or foreign place of departure until it comes to rest at the end of its flight to its first destination in Canada.
Report to employer	(6) An employee who refuses to use or operate a machine or thing, to work in a place or to perform an activity under subsection (1), or who is prevented from acting in accordance with that subsection by subsection (4), shall report the circumstances of the matter to the employer without delay .
Employer to take immediate action	(7) If the employer agrees that there is a danger, the employer shall take immediate action to eliminate the danger and protect employees. The employer shall inform the work place committee or the health and safety representative of the matter and the action taken to remedy it.
Continued refusal	(8) If the matter is not resolved under subsection (7), the employee may, if otherwise entitled to under this section, continue the refusal and the employee shall without delay report the circumstances of the matter to the employer and to the work place committee or the health and safety representative.
Investigation of report	(9) An employer shall, immediately on being informed of the continued refusal under subsection (8) , investigate the matter in the presence of the employee who reported it and of
	(a) at least one member of the work place committee to which the matter was reported under subsection (8) who does not exercise managerial functions;
	(b) the health and safety representative; or
	(c) if no person is available under paragraph (a) or (b) , at least one person from the employer's work place selected by the employee.
If more than one report	(10) If more than one employee have made reports of a similar nature under subsection (8), the employees who have reported the matter may designate one employee from among themselves to be present at the investigation on their behalf.
Absence of employee	(11) An employer may proceed with an investigation under subsection (9) in the absence of the employee who reported the matter if that employee or a person designated under subsection (10) is unable to be present or chooses not to be present at the investigation.
Continued refusal to work	(12) If an employer disputes a matter reported under subsection (8) or takes steps to eliminate the danger , and the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the danger continues to exist, the employee may continue to refuse to use or operate the machine or thing, to work in that place or to perform that activity .
Notification of steps to eliminate danger	(13) An employer shall notify the work place committee or the health and safety representative of any steps taken by the employer under subsection (12).
Selection of remedy	(14) If there is a collective agreement in place that provides for a redress mechanism in circumstances described in this section, an employee may exercise recourse either under that agreement or under this section. The selection of recourse is irrevocable unless the employer and employee agree otherwise.

Bill C-97

Internal Complaint Resolution Process