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On September 30, 2021, the National Assembly passed Bill 59, entitled An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (hereinafter "Bill 27," as it was previously known), which was assented to on October 6, 2021. This is the most significant reform of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the "OHSA") in more than 40 years.
While mental health in the workplace was largely ignored in the 1980s, it is quite the opposite today, and Bill 27 aims to modernize the occupational health and safety regime, both in terms of prevention and compensation for employment injuries, in order to better address mental health issues.
On October 6, 2025, important provisions of Bill 27 came into force, particularly aimed at ensuring the protection of workers' psychological integrity. In this regard, the Regulation respecting prevention and participation mechanisms in establishments (hereinafter, the "Regulation"), has been in force since October 1, 2025, sets out the new obligations for employers regarding occupational health and safety.
What this means for employers
Employers must now comply with new requirements that vary depending on the size of their business. They will need to:
- Develop and implement a prevention program (for establishments with 20 workers or more) or a prevention action plan (for establishments with 19 workers or less);
- Establish a health and safety committee (for establishments with 20 workers or more);
- Appoint a health and safety representative (for establishments with 20 workers or more) or a health and safety liaison officer from among the workers (for establishments with 19 workers or less);
- Maintain a psychological and sexual harassment prevention policy, which has been mandatory since September 27, 2024, under the Act to prevent and combat psychological harassment and sexual violence in the workplace.
When developing the prevention program or action plan, employers must, among other things, identify and analyze the risks that may affect the health of workers in the establishment, including psychosocial risks related to work.
What is a psychosocial risk?
Work-related psychosocial risks may manifest themselves through:
- A heavy workload (e.g., unrealistic goals, excessive amount of work or meetings, frequent interruptions, vague or contradictory requests, lack of support, etc.);
- Low recognition (e.g., lack of meetings with managers, limited career advancement opportunities, unfair pay gaps between colleagues, lack of recognition of skills and qualifications, etc.);
- Lack of decision-making autonomy (e.g., too many unpredictable requests, lack of planning, lack of flexibility managing work schedules, managers constantly using an authoritarian tone of voice, etc.);
- Lack of support from colleagues and/or managers (e.g., manager not listening when asked for support, lack of material resources to do the job, no attention paid to the staff's well-being, lack of clarity regarding tasks to be performed or manager's expectations, etc.);
- Lack of organizational justice (e.g., decisions marked by strong bias, unfair treatment of workers, unequal distribution of recognition and application of decisions, different information communicated from one person to another, etc.);
- Psychological or sexual harassment in the workplace;
- Violence in the workplace, including domestic, family, or sexual violence;
- Exposure to a potentially traumatic event.
These factors must be analyzed as a whole, taking into account the way they intersect, rather than separately. Employers must remain vigilant about the presence of these factors and their combined effects.
Considering that Bill 27 also provides protection to employees working remotely, if some of them work exclusively from home, employers must also identify the psychosocial risks associated with this form of work organization.
Time limit
Unless otherwise specified, employers subject to Bill 27 have one (1) year, until October 6, 2026, to develop and implement a prevention program or action plan, which must be updated annually and include a hierarchy of preventive measures, giving priority, where possible, to eliminating the risk at the source. These tools must be specific to the establishment in question, and adapted to the particularities and needs of the workplace.
The Regulation provides a framework for the structures of the
prevention program or action plan. It specifies namely the minimum
number of worker representatives on the health and safety
committee, how it operates, as well as the content and duration of
the training it's the members must undergo, as well as the time
frame to complete said training.
In developing and implementing their prevention program and
managing occupational health and safety, employers can call on the
services of psychological health and/or prevention advisors,
occupational health and safety inspectors, CNESST partners, and
occupational health professionals.
Read the original article on GowlingWLG.com
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