Bill C-97
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| Medical
surveillance
and
examination
programs
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139. (1) The Minister may undertake
medical surveillance and examination
programs and may, if the Minister considers it
appropriate, undertake those programs in
cooperation with any department or agency of
the Government of Canada or with any or all
provinces or any organization undertaking
similar programs.
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| Appointment
of medical
officers
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(2) The Minister may appoint any medical
practitioner qualified in occupational
medicine to undertake the medical
surveillance and examination programs.
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Health and Safety Officers |
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| Designation
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140. (1) The Minister may designate as a
regional health and safety officer or as a health
and safety officer for the purposes of this Part
any person who is qualified to perform the
duties of such an officer .
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| Agreements re
use of
provincial
employees as
officers
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(2) The Minister may, with the approval of
the Governor in Council, enter into an
agreement with any province or any
provincial body specifying the terms and
conditions under which a person employed by
that province or provincial body may act as a
health and safety officer for the purposes of
this Part and, if such an agreement has been
entered into, a person so employed and
referred to in the agreement is deemed to be
designated as a health and safety officer under
subsection (1).
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| Powers of
health and
safety officers
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141. (1) Subject to section 143.1 , a health
and safety officer may, in the performance of
the officer's duties and at any reasonable time,
enter any work place controlled by an
employer and, in respect of any work place,
may
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| Return of
material and
equipment
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(2) A health and safety officer who has,
under paragraph (1)(d), taken or removed
material or equipment for testing shall, if
requested by the person from whom it was
taken or removed, return the material or
equipment to the person after testing is
completed unless the material or equipment is
required for the purposes of a prosecution
under this Part.
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| Investigation
of fatalities
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(3) A health and safety officer shall
investigate every fatality of an employee if the
death occurred in the work place or while the
employee was working.
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| Investigation
of motor
vehicle
accidents
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(4) If a fatality of an employee results from
an accident involving a motor vehicle on a
public road, the health and safety officer
investigating the fatality shall obtain, as soon
as possible after the accident, a copy of any
police report from the appropriate police
authority.
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| Report by
officer
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(5) Within ten days after completing a
written report on the findings of an inquiry or
investigation, the health and safety officer
shall provide the employer and the work place
committee or the health and safety
representative with a copy of the report.
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| Certificate of
authority
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(6) The Minister shall provide every health
and safety officer with a certificate of
authority and, when carrying out duties under
this Part, the officer shall show the certificate
to any person who asks to see it .
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| Limitation of
liability
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(7) A health and safety officer is not
personally liable for anything done or omitted
to be done by the officer in good faith under
the authority or purported authority of this
Part.
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| Duty of Her
Majesty
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(8) Notwithstanding subsection (7), and for
greater certainty, Her Majesty in right of
Canada is not relieved of any civil liability to
which Her Majesty in right of Canada may
otherwise be subject.
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| Inspections
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141.1 (1) A health and safety officer shall
conduct an inspection of the work place in the
presence of
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| Inspection not
to be delayed
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(2) A health and safety officer may proceed
with an inspection in the absence of the
persons referred to in subsection (1) if they are
unable to be present or choose not to be
present at the inspection.
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General Matters |
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| Duty to assist
officer
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142. The person in charge of a work place
and every person employed at, or in
connection with, a work place shall give every
appeals officer and health and safety officer
all reasonable assistance to enable them to
carry out their duties under this Part.
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| Obstruction
and false
statements
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143. No person shall obstruct or hinder, or
make a false or misleading statement either
orally or in writing to, an appeals officer or a
health and safety officer engaged in carrying
out their duties under this Part.
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| Permission
required for
access to
residence
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143.1 No person who carries out a duty
under this Part shall enter a work place that is
situated in an employee's residence without
the employee's permission.
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| Provision of
information
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143.2 No person shall prevent an employee
from providing information to an appeals
officer or health and safety officer engaged in
carrying out their duties under this Part.
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| Evidence in
civil suits
precluded
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144. (1) No health and safety officer or
person who has accompanied or assisted the
officer in carrying out the officer's duties and
functions under this Part may be required to
give testimony in a civil suit with regard to
information obtained in the carrying out of
those duties and functions or in
accompanying or assisting the officer , except
with the written permission of the Minister.
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| Appeals
officer
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(2) No appeals officer or person who has
accompanied or assisted the officer in
carrying out the officer's duties and functions
under this Part may be required to give
testimony in any proceeding with regard to
information obtained in the carrying out of
those duties and functions or in accompanying
or assisting the officer.
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| Non- disclosure of information
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(3) Subject to subsection (4) , no appeals
officer or health and safety officer who is
admitted to a work place under the powers
conferred on an officer by section 141 and no
person accompanying such an officer shall
disclose to any person any information
obtained in the work place by that officer or
person with regard to any secret process or
trade secret, except for the purposes of this
Part or as required by law.
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| Privileged
information
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(4) All information that, under the
Hazardous Materials Information Review Act,
an employer is exempt from disclosing under
paragraph 125.1(d) or (e) or under paragraph
13(a) or (b) or 14(a) or (b) of the Hazardous
Products Act and that is obtained in a work
place, by an appeals officer or a health and
safety officer who is admitted to the work
place, under section 141, or by a person
accompanying that officer, is privileged and,
notwithstanding the Access to Information Act
or any other Act or law, shall not be disclosed
to any other person except for the purposes of
this Part.
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| Information
not to be
published
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(5) No person shall, except for the purposes
of this Part or for the purposes of a prosecution
under this Part, publish or disclose the results
of an analysis, examination, testing, inquiry,
investigation or sampling made or taken by or
at the request of an appeals officer or health
and safety officer under section 141.
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| Confidential
communica- tion
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(6) No person to whom information
obtained under section 141 is communicated
in confidence shall divulge the name of the
informant to any person except for the
purposes of this Part, and no such person is
competent or compellable to divulge the name
of the informant before any court or other
tribunal.
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Special Safety Measures |
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| Direction to
terminate
contravention
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145. (1) A health and safety officer who is
of the opinion that a provision of this Part is
being contravened or has been contravened
may direct the employer or employee
concerned, or both , to
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| Officer not on
premises
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(1.1) A health and safety officer may issue
the direction whether or not the officer is in the
work place at the time the direction is issued.
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| Confirmation
in writing
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(1.2) A health and safety officer who has
issued a direction orally shall provide a
written version of it
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| Dangerous
situations -
direction to
employer
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(2) If a health and safety officer considers
that the use or operation of a machine or thing,
a condition in a place or the performance of an
activity constitutes a danger to an employee
while at work,
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| Dangerous
situations -
direction to
employee
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(2.1) If a health and safety officer considers
that the use or operation of a machine or thing
by an employee, a condition in a place or the
performance of an activity by an employee
constitutes a danger to the employee or to
another employee, the officer shall, in
addition to the directions issued under
paragraph (2)(a), issue a direction in writing to
the employee to discontinue the use, operation
or activity or cease to work in that place until
the danger has been eliminated or protected
against.
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| Posting notice
of danger
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(3) If a health and safety officer issues a
direction under paragraph (2)(b), the officer
shall affix or cause to be affixed to or near the
place, machine or thing in respect of which the
direction is issued, or in the area in which the
activity in respect of which the direction is
issued is performed, a notice in the form and
containing the information that the Minister
may specify, and no person may remove the
notice unless authorized to do so by a health
and safety officer.
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| Cessation of
use
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(4) If a health and safety officer issues a
direction under paragraph (2)(b) in respect of
a place, machine, thing or activity , the
employer shall cause the use or operation of
the place, machine or thing or the performance
of the activity to be discontinued , and no
person may use or operate the place, machine
or thing or perform the activity until the
measures directed by the officer have been
taken.
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| Copies of
directions and
reports
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(5) If a health and safety officer issues a
direction under subsection (1) or (2) or makes
a report in writing to an employer on any
matter under this Part, the employer shall
without delay
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| Copy to
person who
made
complaint
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(6) If a health and safety officer issues a
direction under subsection (1), (2) or (2.1) or
makes a report referred to in subsection (5) in
respect of an investigation made by the officer
pursuant to a complaint, the officer shall
without delay give a copy of the direction or
report to each person, if any, whose complaint
led to the investigation.
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| Copy to
employer
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(7) If a health and safety officer issues a
direction to an employee under subsection (1)
or (2.1), the officer shall give a copy of the
direction to the employee's employer without
delay.
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| Response to
direction or
report
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(8) If a health and safety officer issues a
direction under subsection (1), (2) or (2.1) or
makes a report referred to in subsection (5),
the officer may require the employer or the
employee to whom the direction is issued or to
whom the report relates, to respond in writing
to the direction or report, and the employer or
employee shall provide the work place
committee or the health and safety
representative with a copy of the response.
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Appeals of Decisions and Directions |
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| Appointment
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145.1 (1) The Minister may designate as an
appeals officer for the purposes of this Part any
person who is qualified to perform the duties
of such an officer.
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| Status
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(2) For the purposes of sections 146 to
146.5, an appeals officer has all the powers,
duties and immunity of a health and safety
officer.
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| Appeal of
direction
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146. (1) An employer, employee or trade
union that feels aggrieved by a direction
issued by a health and safety officer under this
Part may appeal in writing to an appeals
officer within thirty days after the date of the
direction being issued or confirmed in
writing .
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| Direction not
stayed
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(2) An appeal of a direction does not operate
as a stay of the direction. However, on
application by the employer, employee or
trade union, the appeals officer may vary the
date by which the direction is to be complied
with.
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| Inquiry
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146.1 (1) If an appeal is brought under
subsection 129(7) or section 146, the appeals
officer shall, in a summary way and without
delay, inquire into the circumstances of the
decision or direction, as the case may be, and
the reasons for it and may
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| Decision and
reasons
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(2) The appeals officer shall provide a
written decision, with reasons, and a copy of
any direction to the employer, employee or
trade union concerned, and the employer
shall, without delay, give a copy of it to the
work place committee or health and safety
representative.
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| Posting of
notice
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(3) If the appeals officer issues a direction
under paragraph (1)(b), the employer shall,
without delay, affix or cause to be affixed to or
near the machine, thing or place in respect of
which the direction is issued a notice of the
direction, in the form and containing the
information that the appeals officer may
specify, and no person may remove the notice
unless authorized to do so by the appeals
officer.
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| Cessation of
use
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(4) If the appeals officer directs, under
paragraph (1)(b), that a machine, thing or
place not be used or an activity not be
performed until the direction is complied
with, no person may use the machine, thing or
place or perform the activity until the
direction is complied with, but nothing in this
subsection prevents the doing of anything
necessary for the proper compliance with the
direction.
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| Powers and
duties
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146.2 For the purposes of a proceeding
under subsection 146.1(1), an appeals officer
may
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