A recent decision out of Ontario involving sizeable safety fines is part of a larger trend that sends “a chilling message overall,” according to one employment lawyer.
“And then we’ve got the prosecutors saying, ‘We are going to go after directors and officers more frequently’ — it’s not going to be acceptable for directors and officers to sit back on their heels and not take any responsibility for health and safety compliance. So there’s a lot going on in that area,” says Cheryl Edwards, partner at MathewsDinsdale in Toronto.
Anecdotally, many Canadian businesses are not addressing these safety issues as they should, she says.
