Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-248)

Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

• 2 (1) In these Regulations, any incorporation by reference of a document is an incorporation by reference of that document as amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:Bilingual documents

  (2) Despite subsection (1), if a document that is incorporated by reference is available in both official languages, any amendment to it is incorporated only when the amended version is available in both official languages.

Marginal note:Inconsistency or conflict

• 3 (1) In the event of any inconsistency or conflict among provisions of these Regulations, including those that incorporate documents by reference, the provision that imposes the most stringent requirement applies.

• Marginal note:Other regulations

  (2) In the event of any inconsistency between an obligation imposed by these Regulations and an obligation in respect of occupational health and safety that is imposed by the Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations or the Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Drilling and Production Regulations, these Regulations prevail, regardless of whether the obligations are imposed on the same person.

PART 2Occupational Health and Safety Management and Oversight

Marginal note:Occupational health and safety policy

4 The occupational health and safety policy referred to in section 210.011 of the Act must contain

• (a) the commitment of the operator to cooperate with any committee or coordinator, as the case may be, with regard to health and safety; and

• (b) an overview of the duties of all persons under Part III.1 of the Act.

Marginal note:Occupational health and safety management system

• 5 (1) The occupational health and safety management system referred to in section 210.015 of the Act must set out procedures for

  • (a) setting goals for the improvement of workplace health and safety, identifying specific targets against which the attainment of those goals is to be measured and reviewing those goals and targets at least annually;

  • (b) ensuring that employees

    • (i) are competent persons in respect of all tasks to be carried out by them,

    • (ii) are kept aware of activities and occurrences that may have an impact on their health or safety at the workplace, and

    • (iii) are supervised to ensure that they perform their duties safely;

  • (c) ensuring that the most recent versions of all documents associated with the system are readily available to all persons at the workplace;

  • (d) collecting, managing and analyzing data with respect to occupational health and safety, including hazards, occupational disease, accidents, incidents and other hazardous occurrences, and identifying trends in that data; and

  • (e) keeping training and competency records in respect of employees, including workplace committee members.

• Marginal note:Auditing

  (2) The audit referred to in paragraph 210.015(2)(g) of the Act must be carried out at as soon as practicable after each of the following occurrences and, in any event, at least once every three years:

  • (a) any change of circumstances that may affect the health and safety of persons at the workplace;

  • (b) the provision by a health and safety officer to the operator of a report under subsection 210.075(1) of the Act indicating non-compliance with Part III.1 of the Act; and

  • (c) the making by a health and safety officer of an order under section 210.093 or 210.094 of the Act in relation to the workplace.

• Marginal note:Improvements

  (3) The operator must implement any improvements identified during the audit referred to in paragraph 210.015(2)(g) of the Act as soon as practicable.

Marginal note:Occupational health and safety program

• 6 (1) Every occupational health and safety program must

  • (a) set out procedures for ensuring that all employees at the workplace comply with the program and with Part III.1 of the Act and all regulations made under that Part;

  • (b) set out procedures for ensuring that employees are competent persons in respect of all tasks to be carried out by them and are kept aware of activities and occurrences that may have an impact on their health or safety at the workplace;

  • (c) set out procedures for keeping training and competency records in respect of employees;

  • (d) set out procedures for keeping records necessary for the auditing of the program;

  • (e) set out procedures and schedules that conform to paragraph 210.019(1)(p) of the Act for carrying out inspections for the purpose of hazard identification;

  • (f) prioritize the implementation of hazard control measures in the following order:

    • (i) measures that involve the elimination of hazards,

    • (ii) measures that involve the selection of less hazardous means of carrying out work and activities,

    • (iii) measures that involve the use of engineering controls to reduce the risks posed by hazards,

    • (iv) measures that involve the use of administrative controls to reduce the risks posed by hazards, and

    • (v) measures that involve protection from the effects of hazards;

  • (g) identify the persons responsible for implementing hazard control measures, including after an occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence;

  • (h) set out procedures for

    • (i) the reporting of hazards by persons at the workplace to the employer, and

    • (ii) the reporting, by the employer to a committee or to the coordinator, of hazards, occupational diseases, accidents, incidents, other hazardous occurrences and failures to comply with the provisions of Part III.1 of the Act, the regulations made under that Part or the occupational health and safety requirements of any authorization issued in relation to the workplace;

  • (i) set out procedures for the prompt investigation of occupational diseases, accidents, incidents and other hazardous occurrences to determine their root cause and identify any actions that are necessary to prevent their reoccurrence; and

  • (j) set out procedures for implementing corrective and preventive measures following an occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence and verifying the effectiveness of those measures.

• Marginal note:Auditing

  (2) The audit referred to in paragraph 210.02(2)(h) of the Act must be carried out at as soon as practicable after any of the following occurrences and, in any event, at least once every three years:

  • (a) any change of circumstances that may affect the health and safety of persons at the workplace;

  • (b) any change made by the operator to its management system;

  • (c) the provision by a health and safety officer to the employer of a report under subsection 210.075(2) of the Act indicating non-compliance with Part III.1 of the Act; and

  • (d) the making by a health and safety officer of an order under section 210.093 or 210.094 of the Act in relation to the workplace.

• Marginal note:Improvements

  (3) The employer must implement any improvements identified during the audit referred to in paragraph 210.02(2)(h) of the Act as soon as practicable.

Marginal note:Workplace committee

• 7 (1) A workplace committee that establishes rules of procedure must include among them

  • (a) the quorum required for committee meetings;

  • (b) the manner in which the committee will address complaints or concerns of employees, work refusals, occupational diseases, accidents, incidents and other hazardous occurrences that are reported to it;

  • (c) a rule whereby a complaint or concern raised with any committee member is to be considered a complaint or concern raised with the committee as a whole; and

  • (d) the time and manner in which complaints and concerns are to be responded to and recommendations made under paragraph 210.043(5)(d) of the Act.

• Marginal note:Minutes

  (2) Every workplace committee must, for the purpose of paragraph 210.043(4)(d) of the Act, provide a copy of the minutes of its committee meetings to any employee on request.

Marginal note:Record keeping

8 All records that are required under the Act to be kept must be maintained in a manner that ensures their accessibility.

Marginal note:Posting of documents

• 9 (1) The period for which an operator or employer, as the case may be, must ensure that a document is posted under paragraph 210.098(4)(a) of the Act is at least 45 days.

• Marginal note:Appeal

  (2) If a decision or order is appealed under subsection 210.101(1) of the Act, the operator or employer, as the case may be, must ensure that all related documents referred to in paragraphs 210.098(1)(a) to (d) of the Act remain posted until the 45th day after the day on which the decision or order is revoked, confirmed or varied under subsection 210.101(9) of the Act.

PART 3Reporting and Investigation

Marginal note:Report to supervisor or employer

10 An employee who becomes aware of an occupational disease or an accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence at the workplace must, without delay, report it to their supervisor or their employer, orally or in writing.

Marginal note:Report to employer with control

11 A supervisor to whom or employer to which — if that employer does not have control over the workplace — an occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence is reported under section 10 must, without delay, report it to the employer with control over the workplace, orally or in writing.

Marginal note:Employer obligations

12 An employer that becomes aware of an occupational disease or an accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence at a workplace under its control must, without delay,

• (a) take all measures necessary to ensure the health and safety of all persons at the workplace; and

• (b) provide to the operator, in writing, a brief description of the occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence, including the name of any affected persons and, if applicable, the date on which and the time and location at which it occurred.

Marginal note:Notification of Chief Safety Officer

13 An operator that is required under subsection 210.017(1) of the Act to notify the Chief Safety Officer of an occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence must do so in writing.

Marginal note:Investigation

• 14 (1) An operator that is required, under subsection 210.017(2) of the Act, to investigate an occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence must obtain, within 14 days after the day on which it becomes known to the operator, a report, prepared by a competent person and accompanied by supporting documentation, that sets out, in respect of the disease, accident, incident or other occurrence and to a level of detail that is proportional to its actual or potential severity,

  • (a) in the case of an accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence, the date on which and the time and location at which it occurred;

  • (b) the name of the affected employee, if any;

  • (c) a description of it and of any resulting symptoms or injury;

  • (d) a description of the treatment provided, if any;

  • (e) its causal factors and root causes;

  • (f) other information relevant to its nature or impact; and

  • (g) corrective and preventive measures that could be taken to prevent a similar situation from reoccurring.

• Marginal note:Report

  (2) The operator must submit a copy of the report and supporting documentation without delay to

  • (a) the workplace committee or the coordinator, as the case may be; and

  • (b) the Chief Safety Officer.

• Marginal note:Material change

  (3) If the operator becomes aware of new information that may result in a material change to the report, the operator must obtain an updated report and supporting documentation and submit a copy without delay to the persons referred to in paragraphs (2)(a) and (b).

• Marginal note:Records

  (4) For the purpose of subsection 210.017(2) of the Act,

  • (a) the records that every operator must keep include all reports obtained under subsection (1) or (3) and their supporting documentation; and

  • (b) the period for which each record must be retained is

    • (i) 40 years from the day on which it is made, if it relates to an occupational disease or exposure or potential exposure to a hazardous substance in excess of the threshold limit value or biological exposure index for that substance,

    • (ii) 10 years from the day on which it is made, if it relates to an incident other than the exposure or potential exposure referred to in subparagraph (i), or

    • (iii) five years from the day on which it is made, if it relates to any other accident or hazardous occurrence.