Basic health and safety awareness training becomes mandatory for farm workers in Ontario Friday, May 16, 2014 by SUSAN MANN New regulations under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act coming into effect this summer will require employers, including farmers, to provide basic health and safety awareness training to all workers and supervisors covered under the provincial legislation. But finding the training materials to use could quickly turn into a scavenger hunt, if one farmer’s experience is any indication. Ken Forth, chair the agricultural industry’s Labour Issues Coordinating Committee, says he has been to his area Service Ontario office two or three times since early April to try to obtain the worker training booklets, and his wife also checked for the booklets at another location, but they were unable to get them. Because he’s associated with a safety association, however, he was able to get some worker booklets printed. “It’s a real boondoggle,” he says, pointing out the regulations come into effect July 1. Forth says he was able to order the supervisor booklets via the labour ministry’s website. Ontario labour ministry spokesman Bruce Skeaff says he didn’t know if there is a shortage of the worker booklets. But people can call the Ministry of Labour Health and Safety Contact Centre at 1-877-202-0008 for information on how to get them or with any other questions about the new regulation. The labour ministry says on its website employers don’t have to use the ministry’s booklets. They can use training materials from other sources “as long as the training meets the minimum content requirements set out in the regulation.” Forth says employers can go through the booklets with workers and supervisors or the employees can go through it alone “so they’re familiarized with the whole thing and then they sign it (the booklet) and you keep it in their file.” The training takes about two or three hours, he notes. The labour ministry says on its website that as part of the new regulations employers must keep records showing workers and supervisors have completed the awareness training program. Mandatory basic health and safety awareness training for workers was one of the key recommendations of the province’s Expert Advisory Panel final report. The panel was appointed to review the province’s occupational health and safety system after a scaffolding accident in 2009 killed four workers. Forth says if labour ministry officials audit a farm, they may check to see if the farm’s workers and supervisors have completed the basic safety awareness training program. The labour ministry says employees must complete the basis safety training as soon as reasonably possible and supervisors must do it within one week of starting work as a supervisor. BF Controls around Walkerton area wells are too restrictive say farmers Liberals and Progressive Conservatives respond to Grain Farmers of Ontario wish list
First Northern Cohort Joins Ontario Vet Program Thursday, September 4, 2025 This September, the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph welcomed its inaugural Northern Cohort of 20 students through the Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program (CDVMP). This initiative, created in partnership with Lakehead University, marks a milestone... Read this article online
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Global grain trade gets a shake-up: What it means for Canadian farmers Tuesday, September 2, 2025 The global grain and oilseed trading industry is undergoing a major transformation—and Canadian farmers should take note. A recently published study in the September 2025 issue of discussed how the traditional dominance of a few multinational giants is giving way to a more competitive,... Read this article online
Canadian Farmers Face Weaker Soybean Yields Ahead Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada forecasts that Canadian soybean production will decline in 2025, reflecting weaker yields across major producing provinces. Nationally, output is projected to fall by 7.3% year over year to 7.0 million tonnes. The decline is linked to a drop in yields, which are expected... Read this article online
Canadian Corn Outlook Shows Mixed Regional Trends Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada projects Canadian corn-for-grain production to grow slightly in 2025, despite drier-than-normal weather and high temperatures that have pressured yields. National production is forecast to rise 1.4% year over year to 15.6 million tonnes. This gain comes from higher... Read this article online