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Priorities for Interventions - OPD 700-3

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Canada Labour Code, Part II - OPDs

No.: 700-3
Date: 2004-07-05

1. Purpose

This directive identifies priorities for intervention on a day-to-day basis, and the factors to consider when establishing orders of priorities within any given grouping.

2. Background

There is a need for managers and field staff to have clear and consistent direction on intervention priorities to be used when urgent or unplanned activities occur.

The intervention priorities found in this directive are based on legislated time frames and priorities as well as program priorities involving both statutory (Part II and III of the Canada Labour Code, Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act, Non-smokers' Health Act, Hazardous Products Act) and contractual (HRSDC-Labour MOUs with Treasury Board and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) obligations.

3. Definitions

1. In this directive:

   "Labour Affairs Officer" (LAO) means persons employed by HRSDC-Labour Program and designated as:

   1. health and safety officer under Part II of the Canada Labour Code;
   2. inspector under Part III of the Canada Labour Code;
   3. inspector under the Hazardous Products Act;
   4. inspector under the Non-smokers' Health Act; or
   5. fire protection services officer.

4. Guiding Principles

1. The order of priority in responding to needs for intervention shall be determined in accordance with the established grouping of priorities as outlined in Section 5 below, and in accordance with special initiatives as identified and approved by the HRSDC Labour Program National Labour Operations Directorate Executive Committee.
2. The established order of priorities shall only be modified where the responsible manager has determined that a modification is warranted in light of the facts involved in a given case.
3. The following criteria shall be taken into account in selecting work priorities within each grouping:
   
   1. legislative or contractual obligation on LAOs to investigate or to cause an investigation such as (but not limited to):
      
      1. work-related fatality,
      2. refusal to work;
   2. legislative, regulatory or policy imposed time limits to perform an intervention such as (but not limited to):
      
      1. group termination,
      2. statute of limitations for offences under Part II of the Code,
      3. access to information requests,
      4. maternity-related reassignments,
      5. health and safety committee exemption permits;
   3. consequence (potential and real) of delaying an intervention:
      
      1. potential for further injury/illness,
      2. potential for further property damage or loss of essential public services,
      3. potential contamination of physical evidence,
      4. official powers to protect persons/scene in interim pending response,
      5. economic impact to company,
      6. economic impact to employee(s),
      7. impact to Canadian economy, i.e., disruption of company activities has ripple impacts on clients, suppliers, distributors, shippers, etc.,
      8. labour relations - immediate and future;
   4. number of workers affected by the non-compliance activity under scrutiny;
   5. ability to incorporate a reactive intervention into existing work plan priorities;
   6. availability of alternative remedies, i.e., self-help kits, client education pamphlets;
   7. size of corporation, i.e., availability of internal expertise such as corporate safety officials;
   8. availability of external expertise, i.e., other government organizations, agencies, sector associations, etc.;
   9. unionized work environment.

5. Grouping of Priorities

1. Group A
   
   1. work place - related fatality;
   2. serious hazardous occurrence with consequences as per s.15.5 of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations;
   3. refusal to work;
   4. dangerous situation;
   5. complaint involving pregnant and nursing employees under section 132 of Part II of the Code;
   6. complaint involving maternity-related reassignment (under Part III of the Code);
   7. group termination.
2. Group B
   
   1. OHS programmed intervention using DIIR targeting tools (includes programmed OHS inspections, and other strategic interventions - refer to OPD 107-1, OHS Worksite Tiering and Work Planning Practices);
   2. complaint of unjust dismissal;
   3. complaint alleging the failure of the work place parties to acknowledge or follow the OHS internal complaint resolution process;
   4. wage recovery complaint;
   5. request for a secret vote;
   6. complaint involving Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act;
   7. health and safety committee exemption permit (issue of quality of service to the client for the Minister);
   8. excess hours of work permit (issue of quality of service to the client for the Minister);
   9. complaint involving Non-smokers' Health Act;
   10. complaint involving Hazardous Products Act;
   11. programmed fire inspection under the Treasury Board policy;
   12. programmed fire inspection on First Nations Reserves under the Treasury Board and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada MOU.
3. Group C
   
   1. Programmed Part III inspection;
   2. OHS complaint referred to HRSDC-Labour by the work place parties following their use of the internal complaint resolution process;
   3. health and safety committee and/or representative assistance;
   4. hazardous occurrence investigation follow-up (to employer's written report) - (refer to OPD 935-1, Hazardous Occurrence Investigations and Reporting);
   5. reporting compliance (exceeding maximum hours to submit report): employer annual hazardous occurrence reporting and routine hazardous occurrence investigation reports;
   6. counselling and education;
   7. averaging hours of work notice - investigation;
   8. technical survey (not related to refusals to work or suspected situations of danger - see group A);
   9. safety audit;
   10. Fire Prevention Week activities;
   11. North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (NAOSH) activities.
4. Group D
   
   1. promotional activity, conferences, exhibition booths, etc., with the exception of North American Occupational Safety and Health Week activities;
   2. fire protection services promotional activity, conferences, exhibition booths, etc., with the exception of Fire Prevention Week activities.

6. Responsibilities

1. The Director General, National Labour Operations Directorate, shall be responsible for evaluating, periodically reviewing where necessary, amending this directive and ensuring uniform application in all regions.
2. The Regional Heads of Labour shall be responsible for coordinating its implementation and its ongoing application in their region.
3. All managers and Labour Affairs Officers shall be responsible for establishing their priorities for intervention according to the grouping of priorities laid out in section 5 above.

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Date Modified:

2011-12-06