The legislation is enforced internally by workplace health and safety committees and externally by inspectors appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. Directors and officers of a corporation have a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complies with the statute. Some Ontario employers must register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act . Failure to do so within 10 days of becoming an “employer” is a statutory offence. Most workers injured in accidents arising from employment or suffering from an occupational disease receive compensation from the fund established under this legislation, but cannot sue the employer for damages arising from such injuries. The Québec Act respecting occupational health and safety is intended to eliminate dangers to the health, safety and physical well-being of workers. It grants an employee the right to refuse to perform work if there is reasonable cause to believe that the work would expose him or her to risks to health, safety or physical well-being or expose an unborn or breast-fed child to such risks, in the case of a pregnant or breast- feeding worker. Employees may agree with employers upon more favourable working conditions than the minimum standards required by law, but employees cannot contract out of or waive the statutory minimum standards. Québec’s Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases provides for compensation for injuries arising from employment and may include income replacement, compensation for bodily injuries, treatment, rehabilitation and death benefits. Compensation is based on a no-fault system. Workers injured by accidents arising from employment or suffering from an industrial disease may receive compensation from the fund established for such purposes; they cannot, however, sue the employer for
damages. The fund is financed by way of premiums or assessments paid exclusively by all Québec employers. In certain circumstances, the statute may apply to employers that do not have an establishment in Québec at the time when the accident occurs or the disease is contracted. Under the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System, employers in all provinces have an obligation to provide information and educational programs to employees who work with hazardous materials. Employer Health Tax The Ontario Health Insurance Plan is partially funded by an employer health tax. Employers that have permanent establishments in Ontario are required to pay the tax at a graduated tax rate ranging from 0.98% to 1.95% per year, depending on the total amount of remuneration paid in the year by the employer to its employees. Employers in Ontario with annual payrolls of less than $5 million are exempt from employer health tax on the first $1 million of their Ontario payrolls. Under the Act respecting the Régie de l’assurance- maladie du Québec , employers in Québec generally must pay to the Minister of Revenue a contribution of up to 4.26% of the wages paid to employees in the province to finance the health plan. Termination of Employees In the absence of just cause for termination (which is generally construed narrowly by courts and tribunals in Canada), all employees – whether unionized or not – are entitled to notice of termination. The notice may be by way of “working notice” or pay in lieu of such notice (except in the case of statutory severance pay in Ontario, which must be satisfied by way of lump
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Doing Business in Canada
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