Professional engineers have had duties under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act (Ontario) since January 1,2001. These duties require all professional engineers to ensure compliance with the act and regulations, and if they fail to do so, are liable to Ministry of Labour charges and a 25,000 dollars fine, or 12 months in jail, or both. These OHS regulatory obligations have now been increased by an amendment to the Criminal Code, known asBillC-45. New legislation has been passed that, for the first time, establishes a duty to ensure workplace health and safety under the Criminal Code. Bill C-45, which was proclaimed into force on March 31, 2004, compels all employers across Canada to demonstrate that they have met their legal obligations relating to workplace health and safety. The federal government, through Bill C-45, will also impose a new legal duty to all "organizations" whether they are federally or provincially regulated, and this will be in addition to existing occupational health and safety legislation.
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