QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Sept. 18 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government recently
appointed a permanent health and safety advisory committee to provide advice on protecting the safety of health care workers, Minister of Labour Steve Peters announced.
"Our government is committed to protecting the health and safety of
Ontario workers," said Peters. "Health care workers are on the front lines
protecting all of us, so it is vital that they be protected from injury and
illness while performing their jobs."
The committee, appointed under the authority of Section 21 of the
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), will meet on an ongoing basis and provide advice to the Minister on how to improve health and safety protection in the sector. The committee is comprised of representatives from groups within the health care sector, representing both employers and workers.
This committee is part of the Ontario government's ongoing improvements
to workplace health and safety. These include:

- Hiring 200 new health and safety inspectors for workplaces across
Ontario, including health care facilities
- Designating inspector positions, for the first time, specifically to
the health care sector to handle key issues and facilities
- Targeting workplaces with poor health and safety performance records
and high costs to the WSIB
- Putting in place a new annual process to update occupational exposure
limits for the more than 700 hazardous substances covered by Ontario
regulation.

"Ontario's health care workers ensure that Ontarians continue to enjoy the
best quality of life possible," said Peters. "This new committee will help the
government ensure these workers are kept safe and healthy at work while they continue to deliver the highest quality health care."