Proposed amendments to N.L.’s health and safety legislation receive second reading

Proposed amendments to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act received second reading in the House of Assembly on Nov. 8.

The proposed legislation will address housekeeping items, incorporate gender-neutral language, modernize terminology, reduce red tape and achieve internal and cross-legislative consistency.

“Modernizing the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act is long overdue,” said Bernard Davis, Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL. “The act has not had a substantive consolidation since 1983. While there have been some changes made to the Act since 2013, these amendments will make this legislation more user friendly and improve overall readability.”

If approved, the amended Act will come into force on Sept. 1, 2023.

This will allow WorkplaceNL ample time to make the necessary internal adjustments these amendments will require, the province said. None of the proposed changes will affect benefits to injured workers or increase costs to employers, nor do they modify current obligations, authority levels, or rights.

The need for amendments to the Act were identified in the 2013 Statutory Review, the 2019 Statutory Review and on-going analysis of the current Act by WorkplaceNL and the Workplace, Health, Safety and Compensation Review Division.