# The safety training your crew has to hold.

## The six requirements, at a glance

Read the row, then follow the link for the plain-language version and the source. The general duty behind all of them is OHSA s. 25 (2): an employer must *provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker* and *acquaint a worker or a person in authority over a worker with any hazard in the work*.

| Requirement | Who | When | Valid for | Law |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Basic health and safety awareness** | Every worker and every supervisor | Workers: as soon as practicable. Supervisors: within one week of starting as a supervisor. | No expiry in the regulation | [O. Reg. 297/13, ss. 1, 2, 4](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/130297) |
| **Working at Heights** | Workers on construction projects who may use a fall protection method listed in O. Reg. 213/91 | Before the worker may use fall protection | 3 years, then a refresher for another 3 | [O. Reg. 297/13, ss. 6 to 10](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/130297) |
| **WHMIS** | Every worker who works with, or may be exposed to, a hazardous product | Before the exposure | No expiry in the regulation | [R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 860, s. 7](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900860) |
| **JHSC certified members** | Workplaces where 20 or more workers are regularly employed | One worker member and one employer member of the committee | 3 years after Part Two, then a refresher | [OHSA, s. 9 (2) and (12)](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o01) |
| **First aid** | Every workplace; the certificate level depends on workers per shift | A qualified worker in charge of the station at all times work is in progress | Certificate must be valid | [R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101, ss. 8 to 14](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/901101) |
| **Confined space** | Every worker who enters a confined space or performs related work | Before the entry, in accordance with the site's plan | No expiry in the regulation | [O. Reg. 632/05, ss. 8 and 9.1](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/050632) |

## Each requirement, in plain language

### Basic health and safety awareness

O. Reg. 297/13

Every worker in Ontario must complete a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program, and the regulation says when: *as soon as practicable* (s. 1 (1)). Every supervisor must complete the supervisor version *within one week of performing work as a supervisor* (s. 2 (1)). The Ministry publishes both programs and they are free: [Worker health and safety awareness in four steps](https://www.ontario.ca/page/worker-health-and-safety-awareness-four-steps) and [Supervisor health and safety awareness in five steps](https://www.ontario.ca/page/supervisor-health-and-safety-awareness-five-steps). You may use another program as long as it covers what s. 1 (3) and s. 2 (3) require.

**Who**Every worker; every supervisor

**When**Workers as soon as practicable; supervisors within one week

**Record**Employer keeps it (s. 4 (1)); written proof on request (s. 4 (3))

The Ministry does not store certificates or keep a record for you. The employer maintains the record of who has completed it (s. 4 (1)), gives a worker written proof on request (s. 4 (3)), and still has to do so if the worker asks within six months of leaving (s. 4 (5)).

Sources: [O. Reg. 297/13 on e-Laws](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/130297)[ontario.ca: Health and safety training](https://www.ontario.ca/page/health-and-safety-training)

### Working at Heights

O. Reg. 297/13, ss. 6 to 10

This one applies to workers on construction projects who are required under [O. Reg. 213/91](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/910213) to use a listed method of fall protection: travel restraint, fall restricting, fall arrest, safety nets, and a safety belt or harness with a lanyard tied off (s. 6). Before such a worker may use fall protection, the employer must ensure they have completed a working at heights program that is *approved by the Chief Prevention Officer* and *provided by a training provider approved by the Chief Prevention Officer* (s. 7 (2)). A course from an unapproved provider does not count, however good it was.

**Who**Construction workers who may use fall protection under O. Reg. 213/91

**Valid for**3 years from completion (s. 8 (1)); a refresher keeps it valid for another 3

**Record**Worker, provider, date, program name (s. 10 (2)); shown to an inspector on request (s. 10 (4))

The training is valid for three years from the date of successful completion (s. 8 (1)). Ontario's page on the program states the rest plainly: *after 3 years, workers need to successfully complete a refresher program to keep their training valid for another 3 years*. The employer's record must carry four things: the worker's name, the approved provider's name, the completion date and the name of the approved program (s. 10 (2)), and a copy of the worker's proof of completion issued by the Chief Prevention Officer counts as that record (s. 10 (3)). Newfoundland and Labrador fall protection training is accepted in place of it (s. 7 (1) (b)).

Sources: [O. Reg. 297/13 on e-Laws](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/130297)[ontario.ca: Training: working at heights](https://www.ontario.ca/page/training-working-heights)

### WHMIS

R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 860, s. 7

Every worker who works with, or may be exposed in the course of their work to, a hazardous product must be instructed in the contents of labels and safety data sheets and what they mean, the procedures for safe use, storage, handling and disposal, the procedures when fugitive emissions are present, and what to do in an emergency involving the product (s. 7 (1)). The program has to be developed and implemented for *the employer's workplace*, not bought off a shelf and filed (s. 7 (2)).

**Who**Every worker who works with or may be exposed to a hazardous product

**Valid for**No expiry is written into Reg. 860

**Test**Workers must be able to use the information to protect themselves (s. 7 (3))

Be careful with the number you have heard. Reg. 860 sets no validity period and no annual renewal; the duty in s. 7 (3) is that the instruction *results in the workers being able to use the information to protect their health and safety*. Many employers refresh it yearly or when the products on site change, and that is a sound practice, but it is a practice and not a number in the regulation.

Sources: [Reg. 860 (WHMIS) on e-Laws](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900860)

### Joint health and safety committee certified members

OHSA, s. 9

A joint health and safety committee is required *at a workplace at which twenty or more workers are regularly employed* (s. 9 (2) (a)), and also where an order under s. 33 is in effect or a designated-substance regulation applies (s. 9 (2) (b) and (c)). Once you have a committee, the constructor or employer must ensure that *at least one member of the committee representing the constructor or employer and at least one member representing workers are certified members* (s. 9 (12)).

**Who**Workplaces with 20 or more regularly employed workers

**How many**One certified worker member and one certified employer member

**Valid for**3 years after Part Two; refresher within 3 years keeps it valid

Certification comes from completing an approved program, Part One and Part Two, from an approved provider. Ontario's page on it states the validity: *your joint health and safety committee certification is valid for 3 years after the successful completion of an approved JHSC Part two training program*, and a refresher must be completed within three years of certification, or of the last refresher, to keep it valid. Members hold a record issued by the Chief Prevention Officer as proof.

Sources: [OHSA s. 9 on e-Laws](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o01)[ontario.ca: Training for JHSC members](https://www.ontario.ca/page/training-joint-health-and-safety-committee-members)

### First aid

R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101

First aid is the one requirement on this page that sits under the *Workplace Safety and Insurance Act* rather than the OHSA, and the level of certificate it demands scales with the number of workers on a shift. Up to five workers in a shift: a first aid station in the charge of a worker holding a valid Emergency First Aid certificate or its equivalent (s. 8). Six to fifteen: a valid Standard First Aid certificate (s. 9). Sixteen to 199: Standard First Aid, plus a stretcher and two blankets (s. 10). Two hundred or more: a first aid room (s. 11).

**Who**A qualified worker in charge of the station at all times work is in progress (s. 1 (2))

**Level**Emergency up to 5 per shift; Standard from 6 (ss. 8 to 11)

**Record**Every treatment logged (s. 5); boxes inspected at least quarterly (s. 6)

On a construction, repair or demolition site the station goes in the time office, or in a vehicle or building on site if there is no time office (s. 14). The station must display the valid first aid certificates of the trained workers on duty (s. 1 (1)), the employer records every first aid treatment given (s. 5), and the boxes are inspected at least quarterly with the inspection card signed and dated (s. 6).

Sources: [Reg. 1101 (First Aid Requirements) on e-Laws](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/901101)

### Confined space

O. Reg. 632/05

On a project, the employer must ensure that *every worker who enters a confined space or who performs related work receives adequate training to perform the work safely, in accordance with the relevant plan* (s. 9.1 (2)). In workplaces other than projects the duty is s. 8 (1): adequate training for safe work practices in confined spaces and for related work, *including training in the recognition of hazards associated with confined spaces*. Either way the training is tied to the written confined space plan for that site, which is why it cannot be a generic card.

**Who**Every worker who enters, or performs related work such as attending or rescue

**Valid for**No expiry is written into O. Reg. 632/05

**Tied to**The site's confined space plan (s. 9.1 on projects, s. 8 elsewhere)

Sources: [O. Reg. 632/05 (Confined Spaces) on e-Laws](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/050632)

## What an inspector asks to see

None of these regulations is satisfied by the training having happened. Each one is satisfied by the record. Awareness training: the employer's record of completion (297/13 s. 4). Working at Heights: a record naming the worker, the provider, the date and the approved program, *available to an inspector on request* (s. 10 (4)). First aid: the certificates posted at the station, the treatment log, the quarterly inspection card. JHSC: the certified member's proof from the Chief Prevention Officer.

The failure mode on a real site is never that the course was not taken. It is that the card is in a wallet in a truck, the sign-in sheet is in a binder in the office, and the inspector is standing in front of you. Our [Ontario safety law page](https://bluecraneworks.ca/ontario-construction-safety-law.html) covers what else the inspector can ask for; the [inspection article](https://bluecraneworks.ca/articles/ontario-ministry-of-labour-construction-inspection-compliance.html) covers how the visit goes.

## Run it this week

The approved courses come from approved providers. What you run between courses, and what you keep, is yours. These are the site's own five-minute talks and templates that map onto the duties above, each with a printable sign-in or record sheet. Free, no account.

[Heights **Fall Protection Basics** Five minutes, printable sign-in. Not a substitute for the approved course; the record between courses.](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/fall-protection-basics.html)
[Awareness **The New Worker's First Week** The first-week talk for a new hire, built around the duties in O. Reg. 297/13.](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/new-worker-first-week.html)
[Confined space **Confined Space Awareness** Hazard recognition for anyone near an entry, with the sign-in sheet.](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/confined-space-awareness.html)
[Hazards **Hot Work & Fire Watch** Hot work, fire watch and the products that make WHMIS matter on site.](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/hot-work-fire-watch.html)
[Records **Field Level Hazard Assessment (FLHA) Template** The daily hazard assessment. Fill on screen, print, file to the site.](https://bluecraneworks.ca/field-level-hazard-assessment-flha.html)
[Records **Safe Work Procedure (SWP) Template — Free & Printable** A safe work procedure template with the citations already in it.](https://bluecraneworks.ca/safe-work-procedure-template.html)

All thirteen talks are on the [toolbox talks page](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks.html); the rest of the templates are in the [form compendium](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools.html).

## The same duty in other provinces

Every jurisdiction in Canada writes its own version of these requirements under its own act. [The Canada-wide directory](https://bluecraneworks.ca/construction-safety-regulations-canada.html) names the act, the regulator and the official source for all thirteen, and each province has its own plain-language page.

Licences are a different question from training. What a municipality requires before you can pull a permit or register as a contractor, city by city, is indexed on our [Ontario Trade Registry](https://ontariotraderegistry.ca/licensing/), along with the compliance records behind the forms on this site.

[Ontario](https://bluecraneworks.ca/ontario-construction-safety-law.html)
[British Columbia](https://bluecraneworks.ca/british-columbia-construction-safety-law.html)
[Alberta](https://bluecraneworks.ca/alberta-construction-safety-law.html)
[Saskatchewan](https://bluecraneworks.ca/saskatchewan-construction-safety-law.html)
[Manitoba](https://bluecraneworks.ca/manitoba-construction-safety-law.html)
[Quebec](https://bluecraneworks.ca/quebec-construction-safety-law.html)
[New Brunswick](https://bluecraneworks.ca/new-brunswick-construction-safety-law.html)
[Nova Scotia](https://bluecraneworks.ca/nova-scotia-construction-safety-law.html)
[Prince Edward Island](https://bluecraneworks.ca/prince-edward-island-construction-safety-law.html)
[Newfoundland and Labrador](https://bluecraneworks.ca/newfoundland-labrador-construction-safety-law.html)
[Yukon](https://bluecraneworks.ca/yukon-construction-safety-law.html)
[NWT and Nunavut](https://bluecraneworks.ca/northwest-territories-nunavut-construction-safety-law.html)

Blue Crane keeps the crew current

[Blue Crane](https://bluecraneworks.ca/) holds every worker's certificates and training records in one vault, filed to the worksite they belong to, and sends an expiry alert before a Working at Heights card or a JHSC certification lapses. Worker orientation and toolbox talk sign-in forms are built in. Free for 30 days, no card.

- Every cert and record in one place, ready when an inspector asks

- Expiry alerts before anything lapses

- Orientation and sign-in forms your crew signs from a phone

[Start free for 30 days](https://app.bluecraneworks.ca/?intent=trial)

**Checked against**e-Laws, currency 2026-08-24

**Also**ontario.ca training pages

**Delivers training**No

**Updated**2026-08-27

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Source: https://bluecraneworks.ca/training