Head of Compliance and Enforcement Designation

Summary#

These are final regulations called SOR/2021-118 that update a number of federal workplace rules so they refer to the newly created role, the Head of Compliance and Enforcement. The changes align several labour and occupational health and safety regulations with amendments to the Canada Labour Code that took effect on January 1, 2021. The regulations were registered on June 1, 2021 and published on June 9, 2021.

What it does#

• Replaces references to "Minister", "inspector" or "regional director" with Head of Compliance and Enforcement across many federal regulations. This is a technical, wording change so the HOCE holds the powers and duties those terms used to refer to.
• Updates where some documents must be filed under the Canada Labour Standards Regulations: they are to be sent to the HOCE at the regional office of the Labour Program nearest the employee’s residence.
• Removes the definition of "Minister" from two regulations so the HOCE reference is clear.
• Applies the wording change to a list of named regulations, including:
  • Canada Labour Standards Regulations
  • Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
  • Aviation Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
  • Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
  • On Board Trains Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
  • Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations
  • East Coast and Great Lakes Shipping Employees Hours of Work Regulations, 1985
  • West Coast Shipping Employees Hours of Work Regulations
  • Coal Mining Safety Commission Regulations
  • Policy Committees, Work Place Committees and Health and Safety Representatives Regulations
  • Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations
• These amendments come into force on the 30th day after registration.

Who's affected#

• Employers and employees covered by the Canada Labour Code — mainly federally regulated workplaces (for example, banks, airlines, railways, shipping, telecommunications, federal Crown corporations).
• Enforcement staff and officials who run or support inspections and compliance work, including the Labour Program and regulatory partners such as Transport Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Canada Energy Regulator, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (where those partners enforce specific occupational health and safety rules).
• Most workplaces and businesses will not see any new duties or costs from these wording changes. The government says stakeholders will not be affected financially.

Why it matters#

• The change reflects the Code’s shift of many enforcement powers to the Head of Compliance and Enforcement (a change that became effective January 1, 2021). It makes the regulations match the law so the HOCE can carry out or delegate enforcement tasks.
• For workers and employers, the rules and obligations remain the same. This is mainly an administrative update, not a change in workplace rights or responsibilities.
• For the public, the update aims to make enforcement more consistent and clearer about who is responsible for day-to-day compliance work in federally regulated workplaces.