Health & Safety Governance for Boards & Executives
Awareness-level training: certificate of completion included. This course does not certify you to perform regulated work.
About Health & Safety Governance for Boards & Executives Training
Health & Safety Governance for Boards & Executives : Course Details
Duration: 35 minutes
Format: Online course with interactive content and assessments
Certification: Certificate of completion provided upon successful course completion
Access: Lifetime access to course materials and updates
Course Modules
- Introduction
- Module 2: A Different Kind of Safety Training
- Module 3: The Criminal Layer, Bill C-45 and Section 217.1
- Module 4: The Provincial and Territorial Layer, Director and Officer Duties
- Module 5: The Due Diligence Standard
- Module 6: Governance in Practice
- Module 7: Misconceptions and the Worker-Rights Connection
- Course Conclusion
- Final Assessment
Who Should Take Health & Safety Governance for Boards & Executives
This governance training is designed for those with legal accountability for organizational health and safety:
- Board Members and Directors: Accountable for organizational due diligence under Bill C-45
- Executives and Senior Leaders: Setting the tone for safety governance and resourcing
- Officers with OHS Oversight: Responsible for provincial director and officer duties
- Governance and Risk Committees: Reviewing organizational safety performance
Designed for governance-level roles, distinct from frontline worker safety training.
Health & Safety Governance for Boards & Executives : Canadian Regulatory Compliance
Canadian Governance and Criminal Liability Framework
This training addresses legal accountability at the board and executive level:
- Criminal Code of Canada, Section 217.1 (Bill C-45, 2004): Establishes a legal duty for anyone directing work to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm
- Provincial OHS Acts, Director and Officer Liability Provisions: Personal liability provisions for corporate officers and directors
- Due Diligence Standard: The legal test applied to determine whether reasonable governance steps were taken
Governance Obligations
Boards and executives must demonstrate active oversight of safety performance, not merely delegate it, to meet the due diligence standard.
What You'll Learn in Health & Safety Governance for Boards & Executives
- Understand how board and executive H&S governance differs from frontline safety training
- Explain the Criminal Code Bill C-45 amendment and Section 217.1 duty
- Recognize provincial and territorial director and officer duties
- Apply the due diligence standard to governance decisions
- Connect governance practice to worker rights and organizational accountability
Your Instructor
HSE Advisor Canada is a credentialed Canadian health & safety consulting firm. Our courses are developed and delivered by CRSP-certified practitioners and COR & ISO 45001 Lead Auditors with field experience across construction, oil & gas, mining, and industrial manufacturing.
The same team builds compliant safety programs and guides Canadian businesses through COR certification, so every course reflects current provincial and federal OHS requirements rather than generic theory.
Training your team on this course?
Assign it to your whole crew, track completions, and get one company invoice with a corporate account.
Need more than training?
Our CRSP-certified, COR & ISO 45001 Lead Auditors help Canadian businesses build compliant safety programs and earn COR certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can directors and executives be held personally liable for workplace safety failures in Canada?
Yes, on two levels. The Criminal Code's Westray amendments (s. 217.1) apply in every province and territory and place a legal duty on anyone with authority to direct work - combined with wanton or reckless disregard, a breach can support criminal negligence charges, with no statutory cap on organizational fines and imprisonment available for individuals. Provincial OHS statutes add a second personal layer: Ontario's OHSA s. 32 requires every director and officer to take all reasonable care to ensure the corporation complies.
Who is H&S governance training designed for?
Corporate directors, officers, and senior executives - the people furthest from the physical hazard and closest to the legal consequence. A formal title is not required: both the Criminal Code and most provincial statutes define liability by the authority actually exercised, so anyone operating at board or executive level should understand these duties. The course focuses on governance practices - reporting, resourcing, and documentation - rather than field-level hazards.
Does delegating safety to management protect a board member from liability?
No. Due diligence is a personal, non-delegable duty - a director must show they personally took reasonable steps, and pointing to the corporation's safety program alone is not enough. The course addresses two of the most costly executive misconceptions directly: delegation does not discharge the duty, and D&O insurance often does not cover regulatory or criminal fines. Failing to ask about known safety problems is treated as evidence against a director, not a defence.
What does a due diligence defence actually require from a director?
Evidence of ongoing engagement, not a policy binder. The course teaches Quebec's three-part model as a universal checklist: foresight (reasonably anticipate risks), effectiveness (verify controls work in practice, not just on paper), and authority (act on problems with the power you hold). Board minutes, safety reporting cadence, resourcing decisions, and responses to joint health and safety committee recommendations are exactly the records a court examines when assessing a due diligence defence.
Does the course cover every Canadian jurisdiction, and is it a substitute for legal advice?
It covers the full national liability stack: the Criminal Code duty that applies in every province and territory, plus the provincial and territorial OHS statutes that layer personal director and officer liability on top - with Ontario's regime, currently Canada's penalty ceiling, used as the benchmark. This is awareness-level training with a certificate issued on passing the final quiz at 80%; it is not legal advice and does not replace guidance from corporate or employment counsel.
