Standardized Personal Protective Safety Equipment Increases Workplace Safety and Encourages Economic Growth

Released on February 3, 2021

Saskatchewan has made amendments to The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996 that will standardize the workplace requirements for first aid kits based on the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard Z1220-17 guidelines.

In addition, amendments were also made to the regulations that include:

• bringing workers doing seismic exploration under the blasting requirements of the regulations;
• consolidating The Occupational Health and Safety (Prime Contractor) Regulations and The Occupational Health and Safety (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) Regulations into The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020, to assist in reducing confusion for employers, contractors and workers as to the various requirements; and
• making housekeeping changes to ensure the language of the regulations are clear, is in keeping with the original intent and that they will help reduce the number of potential workplace injuries. The regulations have also been renumbered from previous versions, which employers should take notice of in the amended regulations.

As part of a Canada-wide initiative to reduce barriers in the area of occupational health and safety, the following personal protective standards have also been adopted but did not require an amendment to the regulations:

• protective headwear (CSA Z94.1 2015);
• eye and face protection (CSA Z94.3 2015);
• protective footwear (CSA Z195-14);
• hearing protection (CSA Z94.2-14); and
• personal floatation devices (must be labelled as approved by Transport Canada or other recognized maritime authority).

“Having a consistent standard among jurisdictions will ensure the health and safety of employees,” Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan said.  “It will also provide opportunities for economic growth as employers will be able to better navigate jurisdiction requirements when they have employees working on jobs in other provinces.” 

The amended regulations and the new standards for personal protective equipment will come into effect on April 1, 2021.  A copy of the full regulations is available at https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/111283/formats/124952/download.

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