Occupational injury risks in Ontario

Reasons for the study

The Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health & Safety reported to the Minister of Labour in December 2010. Legislation was passed in June 2011 to implement a range of recommendations from the panel, including the establishment of a Prevention Office within the Ministry with responsibility for developing and executing an integrated occupational health and safety (OHS) strategy for the province.

The Expert Advisory Panel included a recommendation to improve the indicators of OHS performance at both workplace and systems levels. In 2019, the Ontario Auditor-General recommended strengthening investments in research to better understand the effectiveness of measures to deter OHS violations. In responding to these recommendations, the MLITSD, as it is now called, made “to build and use the best evidence” a priority objective in its 2021-2026 OHS strategy, Prevention Works.

This project supports the implementation of this objective through concerted efforts to build data capacity in Ontario that can support and evaluate prevention activities. These activities will involve both primary data collection, identification of new secondary data sources, and data linkage.

Objectives of the study

Target audience

MLITSD, OHS policy-makers and decision-makers in Ontario, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, employers, workers, labour, OHS professionals.