HSE ADVISOR CANADA

Federal OHS Compliance Checklist

Federally regulated employers carry reporting duties most provincial employers do not, and the annual filing deadline is 1 March. This checklist covers the two annual reports, the committee structure, and the programs the Labour Program expects to see behind them.

How to use it. Confirm first that you are federally regulated — banking, telecommunications, broadcasting, inter-provincial transport, pipelines, First Nations band councils, grain elevators, uranium mining and federal Crown corporations are covered. Then work through each section and record where the evidence lives.
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Federal OHS Compliance

Canada Labour Code Part II · Federally regulated employers

HSE ADVISOR CANADA
hseadvisor.ca

Employer / organisation:

Sector:

Completed by:

Position:

Date:

Reporting year:

1. Are you federally regulated?

Banking
Telecommunications and broadcasting
Inter-provincial transportation — trucking, rail, marine, air
Pipelines
First Nations band councils
Grain elevators
Uranium mining
Federal Crown corporations
Other federal work, undertaking or business:

If none of these apply, this checklist is not yours. Provincially regulated employers follow their own province’s OHS legislation instead, and the reporting duties below do not apply.

2. Annual reports — due 1 March

Requirement	What good looks like	Y / N / N-A	Evidence or gap
Hazardous Occurrence Report submitted	Covers work-related fatalities, disabling injuries, near misses with serious injury potential, structural failures, fires, explosions, electrical contact and dangerous substance releases.
Harassment and Violence Report submitted	Covers all occurrences, including those resolved through negotiated resolution or conciliation.
Nil report filed where there were no incidents	A year with nothing to report still requires a report. Failing to file is itself a violation.
Submission confirmation retained	Keep proof of filing and the date.
Underlying records reconcile to the report	Your internal incident log matches what you filed.

No incidents does not mean no report. This is the single most commonly missed federal obligation. A nil return is still a return, and failure to submit is a compliance violation in its own right.

Filing record for this year:

Report	Period covered	Date submitted	Submitted by

3. Committees and representatives

Requirement	What good looks like	Y / N / N-A	Evidence or gap
Correct structure for your size	Policy committee, workplace committee or health and safety representative as required by your employee count and number of workplaces.
Membership and selection documented	Including how employee members were selected.
Meets at required frequency	With minutes retained.
Members trained	Committee and representative education delivered and recorded.
Complaint resolution process	The internal complaint resolution process is documented and workers know it.

4. Harassment and violence prevention

Requirement	What good looks like	Y / N / N-A	Evidence or gap
Workplace assessment completed	Joint assessment of harassment and violence risk factors, with mitigation measures.
Prevention policy in place	Developed jointly and covering all required elements.
Resolution process documented	Negotiated resolution, conciliation and investigation pathways defined.
Training delivered	For employees, employer and the designated recipient, on the required cycle.
Support measures communicated	Employees know what support is available.
Records retained	Occurrence records kept for the required retention period.

5. Hazard prevention program

Requirement	What good looks like	Y / N / N-A	Evidence or gap
Hazard identification and assessment	Documented methodology and current assessments.
Preventive measures by hierarchy	Elimination and engineering controls before administrative controls and PPE.
Employee education	Delivered on the hazards identified, with records.
Program evaluation	Reviewed at least every three years and after any change.
Ergonomics addressed	Ergonomics-related hazards included in the assessment.

6. Other current obligations to confirm

Requirement	What good looks like	Y / N / N-A	Evidence or gap
Right to disconnect policy	Where required, a written policy on work-related communication outside working hours.
First aid and emergency provisions	Attendants, supplies and procedures meeting the federal regulations.
Refusal to work procedure	The Part II work refusal process is documented and understood by supervisors.
Administrative monetary penalties	Be aware the Labour Program has signalled penalty amounts are under review for both labour standards and OHS violations.

Federal OHS requirements sit in the Canada Labour Code Part II and the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, not in provincial OHS law. Confirm the current wording of both before relying on any line above.

7. Findings and corrective actions

#	Finding	Action required	Owner	Due

Completed by

Date

Reviewed by (senior management)

Date

Federal OHS Compliance Checklist · HSE Advisor Canada · Free to use and adapt.

hseadvisor.ca · (647) 620-5278

This resource is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm every requirement against the current regulation in your jurisdiction before relying on it.