ARCHIVED - Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

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Section IV: Departmental Overview

Mandate, Vision and Mission:The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) was created in 1978 by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act (R. S., 1985, c. C-13) which mandates the Centre to promote the fundamental right of Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment.

CCOHS is Canada’s national resource for occupational health and safety information. It serves to promote health and safety in the workplace, to help establish high standards for occupational health and safety, and to foster consultation and cooperation among governments, labour and employers to reduce or eliminate occupational hazards.

The vision is for CCOHS to become the preferred occupational health and safety information resource centre that will enable Canadians to easily acquire high quality services.

CCOHS is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. It is a departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act.

Objectives

To provide Canadians with information about occupational health and safety which is trustworthy, comprehensive, and intelligible. The information facilitates responsible decision-making, promotes changes in the workplace, increases awareness of the need for a healthy and safe working environment, and supports education and training.

Guiding Principles

CCOHS is governed and directed by a tripartite Council of Governors comprised of members from labour, business and government (federal, provincial and territorial) leaders representing their respective constituents across Canada. The Council meets three times a year to review policy and monitor progress of CCOHS. In January 1997, the Council adopted the following set of guiding principles for the Centre’s future, which have been supported by federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for occupational health and safety:

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act allows the Centre to undertake a broad range of activities "to promote the fundamental right of Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment".

The Council of Governors intends these principles to guide the Centre for the short to mid term and to allow for continued growth in cost-recovery.

1. The Council reconfirms its support and commitment to the CCOHS and the valuable role the Centre provides to Canadian workers and employers. Further, the Council recognizes the importance of its tripartite nature in governing the Centre.
   
   The Centre is to continue to serve as a source of excellence for unbiased technical information and expertise to support labour, employers, and governments in maintaining safe and healthy workplaces.
   
   The Centre is to continue to provide critical analysis and interpretation of occupational safety and health information.
   
   Further, the three caucuses recognize the critical importance of maintaining a free inquiry service to support the right of working Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment.
   
2. The Council and the Centre shall communicate to respective Ministers regarding the excellence and role of the Centre in order to obtain broad public policy support and guidance.
   
3. The Council recognizes the high standard and non-partisan nature of the Centres undertakings. It recommends the Centre continue in its consulting and research efforts, while meeting the test of fairness in a competitive world. Joint funding of projects that target key areas of information needs should be a special focus of these efforts.
   
   The Council urges all governments and other organizations to consider the Centre as a potential source of consulting and research services.
   
4. The Council urges governmental and non-governmental organizations, including labour and employers, to work in partnership with the Centre to provide public access to the Centres CD-ROM, Internet and other services.
   
5. The Council recommends the Centre consider the future possibility of gathering and disseminating occupational health and safety statistical information.
   
6. The Council recognizes that the Centre has become a national repository for MSDS, and efforts to encourage companies to continue to supply data sheets to the Centre will continue, where practicable and feasible.
   
7. The Council recommends that health and safety materials be available in the form most useful to the user, including hard copy.
   
8. The Council encourages the development of partnerships, tailored to specific jurisdictions, that enhance the visibility and distribution of CCOHS information. This could also include cooperation between various government inquiry services.
   
9. The Council recommends that jurisdictions and others systematically provide all technical, research, guidelines, codes of practice, and best practices to the Centre.

The President and Chief Executive Officer (PCEO) and CCOHS staff are committed to following these principles and plan to fulfil the Council’s strategic priorities for the Centre by ensuring CCOHS provides:

A. A confidential occupational health and safety inquiries service to Canadians;

B. Economical fee-for-service occupational health and safety products and services which are delivered by various means, including:

• Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM)
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• Digital Video Discs (DVD)
• 
  
• Accessible computerized information services
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• Publications and guides
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• Training
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• Memberships;

C. Non-biased occupational health and safety information;

D. A national occupational health and safety collaborating centre for the 14 Canadian jurisdictions and serving as Canada’s representative as an international centre (i.e. World Health Organization, International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre);

E. A national occupational health and safety information repository.

CCOHS Council of Governors holds strategic planning meetings approximately every three years to focus on the future direction of CCOHS. In its latest session in 2005, the Council reaffirmed the above guiding principles. They also agreed to focus on the following priorities:

• Keep focused on “serving as a national center for information related to occupational health and safety”. Continue to offer valued and needed information.
• Keep offering our core products and services. This includes continuing to improve products and services so they remain useful and relevant for Canadian workplaces and workers.
• Become the national center for statistics on occupational health and safety.
• Continue to promote health and safety in the workplace in Canada, including the physical and mental health of working people.

Organization Composition

Organizational Structure: CCOHS reports to the federal Minister of Labour and Minister of Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. The Council of Governors are non-paid positions and hold their respective offices throughout Canada. The Chair of the Council is a non-paid position, which is currently occupied by the federal Assistant Deputy Minister, Labour. The President and Chief Executive Officer operates CCOHS from Hamilton, Ontario. CCOHS links its objectives and strategic priorities through an array of service lines.

Governance: The Centre is governed by a tripartite Council of Governors consisting of a Chair and Governors representing employers, labour, and Canadian governments (federal, provincial, and territorial). Four Governors represent workers; four represent employers, and up to thirteen represent provincial and territorial governments. The Chair represents the federal government. All are appointed by the Governor General-in-Council. The Council meets three times a year to discuss and review policy direction and priorities.

Executive Management: The Centre is managed by its President and Chief Executive Officer who directs the work of CCOHS to fulfil its mandate.

Service Lines: The internal departments have recently been reorganized in 2006-7. This change aligns resources by service and program area so that every area includes the technical, marketing and subject specialists necessary for delivery. Systems will maintain the infrastructure necessary to deliver products and support the products and services developed and the web. The Inquiries Service provides direct free front line service to Canadians via telephone, fax, mail and internet. They also provide customer service for cost- recovery products. Communication will continue to promote the use of CCOHS products and services, communications to Canadians and marketing activities. The Controller’s group provides services to the departments including finance, operations support, facilities management and internal computer systems. Human resources support all departments.

Organization Chart

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