Quebec – Québec
Due Diligence - La diligence raisonnable
This material has been extracted from the Acts and Regulations of the Province to help students understand the subject. It is not an official source of information and must not be used for any other purpose.
The following is © Gouvernement du Québec, 2009
R.S.Q., chapter S-2.1
An Act respecting occupational health and safety
DEFINITIONS
“employer” means a person who, under a contract of employment or a contract of apprenticeship, even without remuneration, retains the services of a worker; an educational institution is deemed to be the employer of a student in cases where, under a regulation, the student is deemed to be a worker or a construction worker;
DIVISION II
THE EMPLOYER
Employer's obligations
51. Every employer must take the necessary measures to protect the health and ensure the safety and physical well-being of his worker. He must, in particular,
(1) see that the establishments under his authority are so equipped and laid out as to ensure the protection of the worker;
(2) designate members of his personnel to be responsible for health and safety matters and post their names in a conspicuous place easily accessible to the worker;
(3) ensure that the organization of the work and the working procedures and techniques do not adversely affect the safety or health of the worker;
(4) supervise the maintenance of the workplace, provide sanitary installations, drinking water, adequate lighting, ventilation and heating and see that meals are eaten in sanitary quarters at the workplace;
(5) use methods and techniques intended for the identification, control and elimination of risks to the safety or health of the worker;
(6) take the fire prevention measures prescribed by regulation;
(7) supply safety equipment and see that it is kept in good condition;
(8) see that no contaminant emitted or dangerous substance used adversely affects the health or safety of any person at a workplace;
(9) give the worker adequate information as to the risks connected with his work and provide him with the appropriate training, assistance or supervision to ensure that he possesses the skill and knowledge required to safely perform the work assigned to him;
(10) post up in a conspicuous place easily accessible to the worker all information transmitted by the Commission, the agency and the physician in charge, and put that information at the disposal of the workers, the health and safety committee and of the certified association;
(11) provide the worker, free of charge, with all the individual protective health and safety devices or equipment selected by the health and safety committee in accordance with paragraph 4 of section 78 or, as the case may be, the individual or common protective devices or equipment determined by regulation, and require that the worker use these devices and equipment in the course of work;
(12) allow workers to undergo the medical examinations during employment required under this Act and the regulations;
(13) give, to the workers, the health and safety committee, the certified association, the public health director and the Commission, the list of the dangerous substances used in the establishment and of the contaminants that may be emitted;
(14) cooperate with the health and safety committee, or as the case may be, the job-site committee and with any person responsible for the application of this Act and the regulations and provide them with all necessary information;
(15) put at the disposal of the health and safety committee the equipment, premises and clerical personnel necessary for the carrying out of its functions.
1979, c. 63, s. 51; 1992, c. 21, s. 303; 2005, c. 32, s. 308.
§ 2. — General obligations
Fulfill the obligations
51.1. A person who, although not an employer, retains the services of a worker for the purposes of his establishment must fulfill the obligations imposed on an employer by this Act.
2009, c. 19, s. 17.
Register of risks
52. Every employer shall, in accordance with the regulations, keep and maintain a register of risks connected with certain jobs, identifying, in particular, the contaminants and dangerous substances connected with certain jobs, and a register of the risks connected with the kind of work performed by each worker in his employ.
Prevention program
58. Every employer who has an establishment of a category identified for that purpose by regulation must see that a prevention program for each establishment under his authority is implemented, taking into account the responsibilities of the health and safety committee, if any.
1979, c. 63, s. 58.
Object
59. The object of a prevention program is to eliminate, at the source, risks to the health, safety and physical well-being of workers.
Content
Such a program, in addition to any component prescribed by regulation, must contain, in particular,
(1) programs for the adaptation of the establishment to the standards prescribed by the regulations respecting the layout of workplaces, work organization, equipment, material, contaminants, dangerous substances, processes and collective safety measures and equipment;
(2) measures of supervision of the quality of the work environment and of preventive maintenance;
(3) the specific standards of sanitation and safety for the establishment;
(4) the terms and conditions of implementation of any other rule relating to health and safety in the establishment, which must include, as a minimum, the contents of the regulations applicable to the establishment;
(5) identification of the individual protective devices and equipment which, while in compliance with the regulations, are best adapted to meet the needs of the workers of the establishment;
(6) training and information programs, for the workers, in matters of health and safety.
The components contemplated in subparagraphs 5 and 6 of the second paragraph are determined by the health and safety committee, if any, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of section 78.
1979, c. 63, s. 59.
§ 4. — Accidents
Written report
62. Every employer must inform the Commission of an incident, by the most rapid means of communication, and, within 24 hours, make a written report to it, in the form and with the information prescribed by regulation, if the incident has caused
(1) the death of a worker;
(2) the loss of a limb or of part of a limb, the total or partial loss of the use of a limb or a significant physical trauma to a worker;
(3) such serious injuries to several workers as probably to prevent them from performing their work for one working day; or
(4) material damage valued at $150,000 or more.
Health and safety committee informed.
The employer shall also inform the health and safety committee and the safety representative.
Scene of incident
The scene of the incident must remain unchanged until it has been investigated by the inspector, except to prevent an aggravation of its consequences, or unless the inspector authorizes a change.
Copy of report transmitted to the health and safety committee.
Copy of the employer's report must be transmitted without delay to the health and safety committee, the safety representative and the certified association.
1979, c. 63, s. 62; 1985, c. 6, s. 531; 2009, c. 19, s. 18.
.§ 5. — Information in respect of controlled products
Label and material safety data sheet
62.1. No employer may allow the use, handling or storage of a controlled product in a workplace unless the product carries a label and a material safety data sheet which meet the requirements of this Act and the regulations and unless the worker has received the training and information required to carry out the work entrusted to him safely.
An employer may, however, store a controlled product in a workplace, or allow the handling of a controlled product for storage purposes, if he takes, without delay, all the steps necessary to ensure that the product carries the prescribed label and material safety data sheet and that the worker is given the training and information referred to in the first paragraph.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
Manufacturing
62.2. An employer who manufactures a controlled product must affix a label to the product and prepare in respect of that product a material safety data sheet, both of which must meet the requirements of this Act and the regulations.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
Material safety data sheet
62.3. The material safety data sheet concerning a controlled product shall contain the following information:
(1) where the controlled product is a pure substance, the chemical identity of the controlled product or where the controlled product is not a pure substance, the chemical identity and concentration of any ingredient that is a controlled product;
(2) where the controlled product contains an ingredient that is included in the ingredient disclosure list prescribed by regulation and the ingredient is in a concentration that is equal to or greater than the concentration specified in the list for that ingredient, the chemical identity and concentration of that ingredient;
(3) the chemical identity and concentration of any ingredient of the product which the employer has reasonable grounds to believe may be harmful to human health;
(4) the chemical identity and concentration of any ingredient of the product the toxicological properties of which are not known to the employer;
(5) any other information prescribed by regulation.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
Language requirements
62.4. The label and material safety data sheet of a controlled product must be in French. The French text may be accompanied with one or several translations.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
Training and information program
62.5. An employer must, in addition to his obligations under section 51, implement a training and information program with respect to controlled products, the minimum content of which is prescribed by regulation.
Health and safety committee
The training and information program shall be established by the health and safety committee. The procedure set out in section 79 shall apply in cases of disagreement within the committee.
Establishment of program
Where there is no health and safety committee, the training and information program shall be established by the employer in consultation with the certified association or, where there is no certified association, with the representative of the workers within the establishment.
Updated program
The program must be updated each year or where required by circumstances.
The program shall be incorporated into any compulsory prevention program implemented in the establishment.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
Duties of employer
62.6. An employer must, in respect of every controlled product present in a workplace,
(1) transmit a copy of the material safety data sheet concerning the controlled product to the health and safety committee, the prevention representative or, where there is no health and safety committee or prevention representative, to the certified association or, where there is no certified association, to the representative of the workers within the establishment;
(2) keep and make readily available to every worker, in the workplace, the material safety data sheet concerning the controlled product, in accordance with the regulations;
(3) subject to section 62.7, disclose, on request, to any interested worker of the establishment, to the health and safety committee or to the prevention representative or, where there is no health and safety committee or prevention representative, to the certified association or, where there is no certified association, to the representative of the workers within the establishment, the sources of information in his possession relating to any toxicological data used in preparing the material safety data sheet.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
Exemption
62.7. An employer may be exempted from the obligation to disclose, on a label or material safety data sheet,
(1) the chemical identity or concentration of any ingredient of the controlled product;
(2) the sources of any information relating to toxicological data concerning the controlled product;
(3) the common name, chemical name, trade name, generic name or brand name of the controlled product;
(4) the information by means of which the supplier of the controlled product can be identified.
No employer may, however, be exempted from the obligation to disclose information on any hazard defined by regulation.
1988, c. 61, s. 2.
CHAPTER IV
HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEES
(See also : Regulation respecting health and safety committees, R.Q. c. S-2.1, r.6.1
http://www.canlii.org/en/qc/laws/regu/rq-c-s-2.1-r6.1/latest/rq-c-s-2.1-r6.1.html)
Establishment
68. A health and safety committee may be established in any establishment employing more than twenty workers and belonging to a category identified for that purpose by regulation.
1979, c. 63, s. 68.
Notice of establishment
69. A health and safety committee is established upon a written notice sent to the employer by a certified association or, if there is no certified association, by at least ten per cent of the workers or, in the case of an establishment employing fewer than forty workers, by at least four of these, or upon such a notice sent by the employer to a certified association or, if there is no certified association, to the workers as a whole. A copy of the notice must be sent to the Commission.
Intervention of the Commission
The Commission, where it considers it expedient, may require the establishment of a health and safety committee, regardless of the number of workers in the establishment.
1979, c. 63, s. 69.
Number of members
70. The number of members of a committee is determined by regulation, taking into account the category to which the establishment belongs.
1979, c. 63, s. 70.
Designation
71. At least one-half of the members of a committee shall represent the workers and be designated in accordance with section 72.
Designation
The other members of the committee shall be designated by the employer.
1979, c. 63, s. 71.
Workers' representatives
72. The workers' representatives on a committee shall be designated from among the workers of the establishment.
Designation
They shall be designated by the certified association where it represents all the workers of the establishment.
Designation
Where several certified associations represent all the workers of the establishment, they may, by agreement, designate the workers' representatives. If they do not agree, the designation of the representatives is determined in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed by regulation.
Designation
In other cases, the designation of representatives is determined in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed by regulation.
1979, c. 63, s. 72.
Vote
73. The workers' representatives as a whole and the employer's representatives as a whole are entitled to only one vote, respectively, on a committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 73.
Meetings
74. A health and safety committee shall meet at least once every three months, subject to the regulations.
Meetings
Meetings are held during regular working hours, unless the committee decides otherwise.
If the committee fails to establish its own rules of procedure, it must apply those established by regulation.
1979, c. 63, s. 74.
Physician in charge
75. The physician in charge of health services in an establishment may participate, without the right to vote, in the meetings of the committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 75.
Presumption
76. Workers' representatives are deemed to be at work when they are participating in the meetings and work of the committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 76.
Supervisor notified
77. Workers' representatives must notify their supervisor, or the employer or his agent, when they take time off work to participate in the meetings and work of the committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 77.
Functions
78. The functions of a health and safety committee are
(1) to choose, in accordance with section 118, the physician in charge of health services in the establishment;
(2) to approve the health program prepared by the physician in charge under section 112;
(3) to establish, within the prevention program, training and information programs in matters of occupational health and safety;
(4) to select the individual protective devices and equipment which, while complying with the regulations, are best adapted to the needs of the workers of the establishment;
(5) to take cognizance of the other components of the prevention program and to make recommendations to the employer;
(6) to participate in the identification and assessment of the risks connected with certain jobs and certain kinds of work, and the identification of contaminants and dangerous substances connected with certain jobs, for the purposes of section 52;
(7) to keep registers of work accidents, occupational diseases and incidents that could have caused them;
(8) to send to the Commission the information required by it and an annual report of activities, in accordance with the regulations;
(9) to receive copy of notices of accident and to inquire into incidents that have caused or could have caused a work accident or an occupational disease and to submit the appropriate recommendations to the employer and the Commission;
(10) to receive suggestions and complaints from the workers, the certified association and the employer relating to occupational health and safety, and to examine, record, and answer these suggestions and complaints;
(11) to receive and study the reports of inspections made in the establishment;
(12) to receive and study the statistical data produced by the physician in charge, the agency and the Commission;
(13) to carry out any other task the employer and the workers or their certified association entrust to it under an agreement.
1979, c. 63, s. 78; 1992, c. 21, s. 304; 2005, c. 32, s. 308.
Failure to reach an agreement
79. If a health and safety committee fails to reach an agreement on decisions it must make in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 4 of section 78, the workers' representatives shall present their recommendations in writing to the employers' representatives, who must reply in writing, explaining the points of disagreement.
Dispute submitted to the Commission
If the dispute continues, it may be submitted by any of the parties to the Commission, whose decision is executory.
1979, c. 63, s. 79.
Names of the members posted
80. The employer must post up the names of the members of the health and safety committee in as many conspicuous places in the establishment, easily accessible to the workers, as are reasonably necessary for their information.
1979, c. 63, s. 80.
Prohibition
81. No employer may dismiss, suspend or transfer a worker, practise discrimination or take reprisals against him or impose any other penalty on him on the ground that the worker is a member of a health and safety committee.
Exception
However, the employer may dismiss, suspend or transfer a worker or impose any other penalty on him if he abused his function on a health and safety committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 81; 1985, c. 6, s. 532.
Agreement on the establishment of health and safety committees
82. In an establishment contemplated in section 68, the employer and the certified association or certified associations may agree on the establishment of several health and safety committees and the number of members of each committee. A copy of the agreement shall be sent to the Commission.
1979, c. 63, s. 82.
Rights and functions of committees
83. The health and safety committees referred to in section 82 and their members have the same rights and functions as the committees established under section 68, except to choose the physician in charge of health services and to approve the health program prepared by the physician in charge.
1979, c. 63, s. 83.
Workers' representatives
84. Workers' representatives to the health and safety committees shall be designated by the certified association, or if there are several certified associations, on the terms and conditions agreed by them.
1979, c. 63, s. 84.
Committee for the whole establishment
85. The workers' representatives on each health and safety committee shall designate the workers' representatives to the health and safety committee established for the whole establishment. The functions of the latter committee are to choose the physician in charge of health services in the establishment, approve the health program prepared by the physician in charge, and exercise the other functions entrusted to it by the health and safety committees of the establishment.
1979, c. 63, s. 85.
Responsibilities of each committee
86. The specific prevention program of an establishment, as provided for in section 58, must take into account the responsibilities of each health and safety committee of the establishment.
1979, c. 63, s. 86.
CHAPTER V
SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE
Safety representatives
87. Where a health and safety committee exists in an establishment, one or more persons shall be designated from among the workers of the establishment as safety representatives.
Members of health and safety committee
The persons referred to in the first paragraph are members ex officio of the health and safety committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 87.
Designation of a representative
88. Irrespective of the number of workers in an establishment that belongs to a category of establishments in which health and safety committees may be established in accordance with the regulations under paragraph 22 of section 223, one or more persons shall be designated from among the workers of that establishment as safety representatives upon a written notice sent to the employer by a certified association or if there is no such association, by at least ten per cent of the workers.
Notice to the Commission
A copy of the notice must be sent to the Commission.
1979, c. 63, s. 88.
Designation
89. In the case of sections 87 and 88, safety representatives are designated in the same manner as workers' representatives to the health and safety committee.
1979, c. 63, s. 89.
Functions
90. The functions of a safety representative are
(1) to inspect workplaces;
(2) to receive copies of accident notices and investigate incidents that have caused or could have caused an accident;
(3) to identify situations that may be a source of danger to workers;
(4) to make such recommendations to the health and safety committee as he deems appropriate or, if there is no such committee, to the workers or their certified association and the employer;
(5) to assist workers in the exercise of their rights under this Act and the regulations;
(6) to accompany the inspector on visits of inspection;
(7) to intervene in the cases where a worker exercises his right of refusal;
(8) to submit complaints to the Commission;
(9) to participate in the identification and assessment of risks connected with certain jobs and with the kinds of work performed by the workers, and the identification of contaminants and dangerous substances connected with certain kinds of work for the purposes of section 52.
1979, c. 63, s. 90; 1985, c. 6, s. 533.
Participation in training programs
91. A safety representative may, without loss of pay, take time off work as necessary to participate in training programs of such content and duration as are approved by the Commission.
Expenses
Registration, travel and accommodation expenses are borne by the Commission, in accordance with the regulations.
1979, c. 63, s. 91.
Time off work
92. A safety representative may take time off work as necessary to exercise the functions contemplated in paragraphs 2, 6 and 7 of section 90.
Exercise of functions
The health and safety committee, taking into account the regulations, shall determine how much time the safety representative may devote to the exercise of his other functions. If the committee fails to agree, the representative may devote the minimum time fixed by regulation to these functions.
1979, c. 63, s. 92.
Supervisor notified
93. A safety representative must notify his supervisor, his employer or his employer's agent, when he takes time off work to exercise his functions.
1979, c. 63, s. 93.
Cooperation of employer
94. The employer must cooperate with the safety representative, provide him with the instruments or apparatus he may reasonably need and allow him to perform his functions.
1979, c. 63, s. 94.
Instruments necessary to representative
95. The Commission may, by regulation, determine what instruments or apparatus a safety representative needs to exercise his functions, according to the categories of establishments.
1979, c. 63, s. 95.
Presumption
96. A safety representative is deemed to be at work when exercising his functions.
1979, c. 63, s. 96.
Prohibition
97. No employer may dismiss, suspend or transfer a safety representative, practise discrimination or take reprisals against him or impose any other penalty on him on the ground that he performed the functions of a safety representative.
However, the employer may dismiss, suspend or transfer the safety representative or impose any other penalty on him if he abused his functions.
1979, c. 63, s. 97; 1985, c. 6, s. 534.
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