To make workplaces healthier and safer, the Quebec National Assembly has passed An Act to Modernize the Occupational Health and Safety Regime (Act), which introduces a series of amendments to Occupational Health and Safety Legislation in Quebec.

FREMONT, CA: The Quebec National Assembly has passed An Act to Modernize the Occupational Health and Safety Regime, which introduces a series of amendments to Quebec's Occupational Health and Safety Legislation, including submitting an Interim Prevention and Participation Regime intending to make workplaces healthier and safer. The Interim Regime will take effect on April 6, 2022, and will apply to all institutions in Quebec. The Interim Regime allows for a smooth transition between the present and new regimes regarding participation and prevention strategies. It is designed to assist businesses in taking control of workplace health and safety.

The Interim Regime mandates the development and implementation of a preventative program tailored to each establishment to reduce or eliminate occupational dangers. The requirements of an employer under its preventive program will differ depending on the priority group to which its operations belong, as well as the number of employees in its workplace. The Prevention Programs Regulation establishes six priority groups that classify various economic sectors based on their distinct levels of occupational health and safety risk.

Priority Groups 1, 2, and 3 are concerned with industries that pose a greater danger to workers' health and safety. Chemical, timber, and processing industries, as well as government services businesses, are among them. Trade, education, agriculture, and financial services are among the Priority Groups 4, 5, and 6. If an employer's establishment falls within Priority Groups 1, 2, or 3, the Act on Occupational Health and Safety requires the company to develop and implement a preventative program. If an employer's establishment is in Priority Groups 4, 5, or 6, and has fewer than 20 employees, the employer must now identify and record in writing the

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occupational health and safety risks for those employees, with the goal of identifying workplace risks and associating them with the locations where they might occur. To that end, the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), Quebec's occupational health and safety governing body, has developed a tool to assist employers in identifying six types of risks: chemical, biological, physical, ergonomic, psychosocial, and safety risks.