Occupational safety International framework and country guides
Must an employer in Canada appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician?
Part of: Occupational safety and health in Canada: law, authorities and employer duties
Short answer
No. Canada has no headcount rule for OSH specialists or physicians. The employer keeps the duties and must use qualified or competent persons for set tasks, first aid attendants (federally from 6 employees) and a physician only where an exposure assessment calls for one.
No. Canadian OSH law does not require employers to appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician, unlike Türkiye, where Law No. 6331 obliges every employer to appoint an OSH specialist and a workplace physician (or use an external service), or the EU, where the Framework Directive requires designated workers or competent external services for protection and prevention. The employer, its managers and supervisors carry the legal duties themselves, and the law requires "qualified" or "competent" persons for particular tasks, first aid attendants, and physicians only for specific exposures.
Short answer
- No headcount-based appointment of an OSH specialist or occupational physician exists in federal law or in the provincial laws checked for this answer (Ontario, Alberta).
- Qualified person (federal): someone who, because of knowledge, training and experience, can perform a specified duty safely and properly. Required, for example, to investigate hazardous occurrences and to assess exposure to hazardous substances.
- Competent supervisors: Ontario requires the employer to appoint a competent person as supervisor; the employer may act as supervisor if competent.
- First aid: a federal work place with six or more employees working at any time needs a first aid attendant; a remote work place (ambulance more than two hours away) needs one from two employees.
- Physicians come in for specific programmes, such as the federal hazardous substance rule (COHSR s. 10.7) or Ontario's designated substances regulation.
Why Canada has no general appointment rule
Canadian OSH law follows the "internal responsibility system". Instead of buying in a service, the employer must build safety into line management: supervisors must be trained, committees or representatives must participate, and programmes must be developed and evaluated. The federal Code lists the employer's duties in section 125, including ensuring that employees with supervisory or managerial responsibilities are adequately trained in health and safety and informed of their responsibilities.
In practice, many medium and large employers hire safety professionals, industrial hygienists and occupational health nurses or physicians to meet these duties, but they do so by choice. Legally, the employer cannot transfer its duties to these people: it remains liable, and its defence in a prosecution is due diligence.
Where specific competent people are required
| Task | Who the law asks for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Investigating a hazardous occurrence | A qualified person appointed without delay | COHSR s. 15.4 |
| Investigating exposure to a hazardous substance | A qualified person, who signs a written report kept for 30 years | COHSR ss. 10.4 to 10.6 |
| Deciding whether medical examinations are needed for a hazardous substance | A physician consulted by the employer; a physician acceptable to the employee declares fitness | COHSR s. 10.7 |
| Medical surveillance for designated substances (Ontario) | Examining physicians under the provincial Code for Medical Surveillance | O. Reg. 490/09 |
| First aid at work | First aid attendants with a basic or standard certificate, depending on the work place and ambulance response time (wilderness course in wilderness areas); certificates valid for at most 3 years | COHSR Part XVI |
| Classifying a hazardous location (Alberta) | A professional engineer, or a competent person authorised by one | Alberta OHS Code s. 162.1 |
| Supervising work | A competent supervisor | Ontario OHSA s. 25(2)(c) |
Many sector regulations add further roles, for example certified blasters, qualified electrical workers, or competent persons for scaffolds, cranes and confined spaces. Check the regulations of the jurisdiction and sector that apply.
How an employer should organise OSH competence in practice
Example: A plant with 120 workers in Alberta has no legal duty to hire a safety manager. It must, however, establish a health and safety programme (required from 20 workers under the Alberta OHS Act s. 16), have a joint committee, carry out written hazard assessments, and have the right people for hazardous locations, first aid and specialist tasks. Most employers of this size find that one competent safety professional and access to an occupational hygienist and physician is the efficient way to meet those duties and to document due diligence.
For companies coming from Türkiye, the difference is important: there is no equivalent of the appointment of an OSH specialist (iş güvenliği uzmanı) and a workplace physician (işyeri hekimi) required by Article 6 of Law No. 6331. Instead, whether the employer had competent people and adequate arrangements is judged case by case, in practice often after an incident.
Common mistakes
- Assuming that hiring a consultant transfers the legal duty. It does not: the employer and supervisors remain responsible.
- Forgetting the first aid attendant requirement, which in federal law starts at six employees working at any time.
- Ordering routine medicals for all staff without a legal basis or a job-related reason; human rights law limits medical requirements to bona fide occupational requirements.
Related on excodex
- Occupational safety and health in Canada: law, authorities and employer duties
- Are pre-employment and periodic medical examinations required for workers in Canada?
- What OSH training must employers provide to workers in Canada?
Standards and further reading
- Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, SOR/86-304, ss. 1.2 (qualified person), 10.4 to 10.7, 15.4 and Part XVI: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-86-304/
- Canada Labour Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2, s. 125: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/
- Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, s. 25: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o01
- Ontario Regulation 490/09, Designated Substances: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/090490
- Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act, s. 16: https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/O02P2.pdf
This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.
More questions on this topic
- What is the main occupational safety and health law in Canada and who enforces it?
- Is a written risk assessment mandatory in Canada, and how often must it be reviewed?
- How and within what time must a workplace accident be reported in Canada?
- What OSH training must employers provide to workers in Canada?
- Are pre-employment and periodic medical examinations required for workers in Canada?
- What are the penalties for breaking occupational safety rules in Canada?
- Is a safety committee or a worker safety representative required in Canada?
- How are explosive atmospheres and Ex equipment regulated in Canada?
Part of: Occupational safety and health in Canada: law, authorities and employer duties