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Ontario’s Minister of Labour David Piccini says the government will not be resting on its laurels in the wake of achieving royal assent for Working for Workers Five legislation and releasing data suggesting construction workplaces are becoming less deadly.

The ministry has published statistics indicating the number of fatalities in workplaces in Ontario for 2023 decreased by 25 per cent compared to 2022, dropping from 65 to 49. That represents a 15-per-cent reduction compared to the four-year average.

Of those deaths, 16 were in the construction sector. Chief Prevention Officer Dr. Joel Moody reported this is an improvement from the 20 deaths in the sector in 2022, 18 in 2021 and 23 in 2020.

Meanwhile the province has seen a 19-per-cent decline in the incidence rate of fall injuries targeted by working at heights training.

“All of the work hours that are our men and women are doing in the construction sector, we are seeing a bend in the curve, in that rate, meaning it’s trending in the positive,” said Moody of the data.

Driving down fatalities

“What I’m saying to you is that as we look to prevention and as we make investments in properly fitting PPE, as we listen to the sage advice of the prevention council of experts in the industry, that’s how we’re going to, in the future, drive down construction fatalities,” said Piccini.

The Workers for Workers Five legislation created a new education stream called Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training (FAST) that will allow students in Grades 11 and 12 to participate in more apprenticeship learning through additional co-operative education credits while completing high school; it enabled the launching of a new online job-matching portal that Piccini said would particularly help apprentices looking for construction positions in rural communities; and it created alternative pathways for workers without minimum education requirements to pursue the skilled trades as a new career if they meet alternative criteria, such as prior professional experience.

New health and safety initiatives building on the Working for Workers legislation are expected to be announced in the next week. It is thought there will be measures to boost apprenticeships, safety and workforce participation.

Piccini also highlighted measures requiring employers to supply proper-fitting PPE for female construction workers.

“That’s a big and profound move, because we’re never going to build the hospitals, highways, roads, bridges, public transit if we’re leaving 50 per cent of the workforce behind,” he said.

“You’ve got to make sure people are safe. It’s now in legislation. We’re the first province to move in this respect in Canada.”

On Nov. 21 the government announced it would rebate $2.5 billion in surplus Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) funds to Ontario workplaces with a good safety record.

At the same time Piccini and Premier Doug Ford also announced the province was removing the $150 fee for apprentices taking their first Certificate of Qualification exam.

Combined with other fee reductions and savings previously implemented, each apprentice saves at least $330 from the costs five years ago.

Piccini said that is one way to address the sector’s biggest “existential threat,” which is low productivity.

“Ultimately, you’re driving a more productive workforce,” he said. “I think the majority of employers clearly get that.”

The ministry also announced it was launching a Safe Business Bonus with a $1,000 bonus to eligible employers who create a new workplace health and safety plan approved through the WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program, starting in 2025.

The ministry has more than doubled the number of proactive field visits since 2023, tripled the number of orders issued, and increased the fines under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act. Piccini noted the advocacy of IBEW council president James Barry in pushing for more enforcement.

Moody also attributed the bending of the curve in workplace fatalities to continued focus on training workers who work at heights and on strong joint health and safety committees.

He was assigned by Piccini to undertake a review of causation factors in the construction sector last May and said he will be reporting in the new year.

Moody said focusing on the internal responsibility system will “continue to drive those numbers down.”