The Occupational Health and Safety Act came into force on October 1, 1979. Its purpose is to protect workers against health and safety hazards on the job. Workers and employers must share the responsibility for occupational health and safety. This concept of an internal responsibility system is based on the principle that the workplace parties themselves are in the best position to identify health and safety problems and to develop solutions. Ideally, the internal responsibility system involves everyone, from the company chief executive officer to the worker. How well the system works depends upon whether there is a complete, unbroken chain of responsibility and accountability for health and safety. Several provisions of the Act are aimed at fostering the internal responsibility system. Two new and important provisions are: (1) the requirement for employers to have a health and safety policy and program; and (2) the direct responsibility that officers of a corporation have for health and safety. The joint health and safety committee, or, in smaller workplaces, the health and safety representative, has a role to play by monitoring the internal responsibility system. The Act sets out the basic rules of operation for both joint committees and health and safety representatives. For complete Provincial Health and Safety information click here.