Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

Part I

1.1 [Repealed, SOR/2002-208, s. 2]

Interpretation

1.2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means

• (a) in Parts I to XIX, Part II of the Canada Labour Code, and

• (b) in Part XX, the Canada Labour Code; (Loi)

ANSI

ANSI means the American National Standards Institute; (ANSI)

approved organization

approved organization means an organization that is approved by any province for the teaching of first aid; (organisme agréé)

basic first aid certificate

basic first aid certificate means the certificate issued by either a qualified person or the organization that developed the training, as the case may be, for successful completion of a one-day first aid course; (certificat de secourisme élémentaire)

change room

change room means a room that is used by employees to change from their street clothes to their work clothes and from their work clothes to their street clothes, and includes a locker room; (vestiaire)

CSA

CSA means the Canadian Standards Association; (CSA)

dangerous substance

dangerous substance[Repealed, SOR/88-68, s. 1]

elevating device

elevating device means an escalator, elevator or other device for moving passengers or freight; (appareil élévateur)

fire hazard area

fire hazard area means an area that contains or is likely to contain explosive or flammable concentrations of hazardous substances; (endroit présentant un risque d’incendie)

first aid room

first aid room means a room that complies with the requirements of section 16.10; (salle de premiers soins)

high voltage

high voltage means a voltage of 751 volts or more between any two conductors or between a conductor and ground; (haute tension)

locked out

locked out means, in respect of any equipment, machine or device, that the equipment, machine or device has been rendered inoperative and cannot be operated or energized without the consent of the person who rendered it inoperative; (verrouillé)

lower explosive limit

lower explosive limit means the lower limit of flammability of a chemical agent or a combination of chemical agents at ambient temperature and pressure, expressed

• (a) for a gas or vapour, as a percentage in air by volume, and

• (b) for dust, as the weight of dust per volume of air; (limite explosive inférieure)

medical practitioner

medical practitioner[Repealed, SOR/88-68, s. 1]

Minister

Minister[Repealed, SOR/2021-118, s. 5]

National Building Code

National Building Code means the National Building Code of Canada, 1995, issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, National Research Council of Canada, dated 1995, as amended from time to time; (Code canadien du bâtiment)

National Fire Code

National Fire Code means the National Fire Code of Canada 1995, issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, National Research Council of Canada, dated 1995, as amended from time to time; (Code national de prévention des incendies du Canada)

oxygen deficient atmosphere

oxygen deficient atmosphere means an atmosphere in which there is less than 19.5 per cent by volume of oxygen at a pressure of one atmosphere or in which the partial pressure of oxygen is less than 148 mm Hg; (air à faible teneur en oxygène)

personal service room

personal service room means a change room, toilet room, shower room, lunch room, living space, sleeping quarters or a combination thereof; (local réservé aux soins personnels)

protection equipment

protection equipment means safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing; (équipement de protection)

qualified person

qualified person means, in respect of a specified duty, a person who, because of his knowledge, training and experience, is qualified to perform that duty safely and properly; (personne qualifiée)

regional office

regional office, in respect of a work place, means the office of the Department of Employment and Social Development that is responsible for the Department’s Labour Program in any of the Department’s administrative regions in which the work place is situated; (bureau régional)

toilet room

toilet room means a room that contains a toilet or a urinal, but does not include an outdoor privy. (lieux d’aisances)

Prescription

1.3 These Regulations are prescribed for the purposes of sections 125, 125.1, 125.2, 126 and 146.5 of the Act.

Application

1.31 These Regulations apply to any person who is not an employee but who performs for an employer to which these Regulations apply activities whose primary purpose is to enable the person to acquire knowledge or experience, and to the employer, as if that person were an employee of the employer, and every provision of these Regulations must be read accordingly.

1.4 These Regulations do not apply in respect of employees employed

• (a) on trains while in operation;

• (b) on aircraft while in operation;

• (c) on ships;

• (d) subject to Part II of the Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, on or in connection with exploration or drilling for or the production, conservation, processing or transportation of oil or gas in frontier lands, as that term is defined in the Canada Petroleum Resources Act; or

• (e) on or in connection with a work or undertaking that is excluded from the application of the Act by an order made pursuant to section 123.1 of the Act.

Records

1.5 If an employer is required by section 125 or 125.1 of the Act to keep and maintain a record, the employer shall keep and maintain the record and make it readily available for examination by the Head of Compliance and Enforcement and by the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative for the work place to which it applies.

Inconsistent Provisions

1.6 In the event of an inconsistency between any standard incorporated by reference in these Regulations and any other provision of these Regulations, that other provision shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

1.7 [Repealed, SOR/2019-243, s. 1]

Alternate Media

• 1.8 (1) In this section,

  alternate media

  alternate media means any method of communication that permits an employee with a special need to receive any information, instruction or training required by these Regulations to be provided, including braille, large print, audio tape, computer disc, sign language and verbal communications; (média substitut)

  highly visible

  highly visible means marked with brightly coloured paint, painted with a reflective coating or marked by other means so as to be readily apparent; (très visible)

  special need

  special need means a need that stems from a condition that impairs an employee’s ability to receive any information, instruction or training that is required by these Regulations to be provided. (besoins spéciaux)

• (2) Subject to subsection (5), where an employer or other person is required by these Regulations to give, provide or make available any information, instruction or training to an employee and the employee has a special need, the employer or other person shall give, provide or make available the information, instruction or training to the employee by means of an alternate medium.

• (3) Where information, including warnings, is required by these Regulations to be provided by means of a sign or marking, the alternate medium shall be visible or audible to an employee with a special need.

• (4) Where a warning is required to be given by a means other than a sign or marking, the warning shall be given to an employee with a special need in a manner that effectively warns the employee of the nature of the danger.

• (5) Where an employer or other person is required by these Regulations to give, provide or make available any information by means of labels, defect tags or lockout tags, the employer or other person need not provide the information by means of an alternate medium on the labels, defect tags or lockout tags.

PART IIPermanent Structures

Interpretation

2.1 The definitions in this section apply in this Part.

ASHRAE

ASHRAE means the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. (ASHRAE)

building

building means a structure that is used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy, and includes a grain-handling facility, a tower, an antenna and an antenna-supporting structure. (bâtiment)

floor hole

floor hole means an opening in a floor or platform that measures less than 300 mm but more than 50 mm in its smallest dimension. (trou dans le plancher)

floor opening

floor opening means an opening in a floor, platform, pavement or yard that measures 300 mm or more in its smallest dimension. (ouverture dans le plancher)

grain-handling facility

grain-handling facility means a structure that is constructed, installed or established to handle, store or process grain or grain products, and includes an elevator as defined in section 2 of the Canada Grain Act. (installation de manutention des grains)

HVAC system

HVAC system means a heating, ventilating and air conditioning system that is installed in a building, and includes all of its equipment and components. (système CVCA)

wall opening

wall opening means an opening in a wall or partition that measures at least 750 mm in height and 300 mm in width. (ouverture dans un mur)

DIVISION IBuildings

Standards

• 2.2 (1) The design and construction of every building, the construction of which begins on or after the day of the coming into force of this subsection, shall meet the requirements of the National Building Code.

• (2) Every building, the construction of which begins before the day of the coming into force of this subsection, shall, if feasible, meet the requirements of the National Building Code.

• (3) The renovation of any building or part of a building shall, if feasible, meet the requirements of the National Building Code.

• (4) If it is not feasible for an employer to comply with the requirements of subsection (3), the employer shall, before the proposed renovations start, notify the work place committee or the health and safety representative.

Doors

• 2.3 (1) Every double-action swinging door that is located in an exit, entrance or passageway used for two-way pedestrian traffic or traffic involving wheelchairs or other similar devices shall be designed and fitted in a manner that will allow persons who are approaching from one side of the door to be aware of persons who are on the other side of it.

• (2) The area of every passageway into which a door or gate extends when open, other than the door of a closet or other small unoccupied storage room, shall be marked, in consultation with the work place committee or the health and safety representative in a manner that clearly indicates the area of hazard created by the opening of the door or gate.

• (3) Where a door or gate that is to remain open extends into a passageway for a distance that will reduce the effective width of the passageway to a width less than that required by the National Building Code,

  • (a) an attendant shall be posted near the open door or gate; or

  • (b) a highly visible barricade shall be placed across the passageway before the door or gate is opened to prevent persons from using the passageway while the door or gate is open.