Occupational Health and Safety Act

60(1)

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) respecting the collection, use and disclosure of information, including individually identifying health information or personal information, for the purposes of section 31;

(b) respecting information for the purposes of section 53;

(c) respecting the establishment of an occupational health and safety surveillance program under section 56, including, without limitation, provisions

(i) respecting the collection, use and disclosure of information, including personal information as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection Act and the disclosure by a custodian of health information as defined in the Health Information Act, without the consent of the individual who is the subject of the information;

(ii) respecting requirements for information handling procedures and controls;

(iii) respecting security arrangements against risks such as unauthorized access, collection, use and destruction of the information, and

(iv) specifying other purposes for occupational health and safety surveillance;

(d) authorizing a research and education program related to prevention of work site injuries and illnesses, including but not limited to

(i) authorizing the collection of information from The Workers’ Compensation Board,

(ii) the use of information collected under subclause (i) in research and educational programming related to prevention of work site injuries and illnesses, and

(iii) authorizing the collection and use of information, if the information is related to research and educational programming related to prevention of work site injuries and illnesses;

(e) respecting making assessments under section 63 on employers for the purposes of defraying part of the costs for administering this Act;

(f) defining terms used but not defined in this Act;

(g) respecting any matter concerning the transition from the previous Act to this Act, and to remedy any confusion, difficulty, inconsistency or impossibility resulting from the transition;

(h) respecting any matter the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary and advisable for carrying out the intent and purposes of this Act.

60(2)

A regulation made under subsection (1)(g) may be made retroactive to the extent set out in the regulation.

60(3)

A regulation made under subsection (1)(g) is repealed on the earliest of the following:

(a) the coming into force of an amendment that adds the subject-matter of the regulation to this Act;

(b) the coming into force of a regulation that repeals the regulation made under subsection (1);

(c) 3 years after the regulation comes into force.

60(4)

The repeal of a regulation under subsection (3)(b) or (c) does not affect anything done under the authority of the regulation before the repeal of the regulation.

61(1)

The Minister may make an OHS Code

(a) respecting specific health and safety matters and rules for or in connection with occupations and work sites, including

(i) reporting requirements and the maintenance and preservation of documents reported,

(ii) medical and health requirements,

(iii) joint health and safety committees and health and safety representatives,

(iv) the requirements for codes of practice and other information and documents, and

(v) the instruction, supervision and qualifications of specified persons;

(b) providing for the prevalence of specified provisions of the OHS Code over other specified provisions of the OHS Code;

(c) providing for any matter or thing which by this Act may or is to be provided for by the OHS Code;

(d) respecting the adoption or incorporation of a code (in this section referred to as a “secondary code”) or part of a secondary code, as that secondary code or part exists at a particular time, dealing with health and safety matters under clauses (a) to (c);

(e) respecting approvals referred to in section 22;

(f) respecting licences and licensing, including qualifications to obtain and hold licences and the maintenance of a registry of licensees;

(g) respecting fees for licences and for services and materials provided under this Act and the OHS Code;

(h) respecting elements to be included in a health and safety program under section 16;

(i) respecting incidents for the purposes of section 33(3);

(j) respecting programs under section 51;

(k) respecting the submission of reports by organizations under section 57;

(l) respecting the designations of persons under section 58;

(m) respecting the establishment and carrying out of programs under section 59;

(n) respecting service of documents under section 64(6)(a)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), (b)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) and (c)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (vi), including provisions respecting

(i) the electronic methods by which service may be effected,

(ii) service by recorded mail, and

(iii) when service by recorded mail or an electronic method is deemed to be effective;

(o) prescribing the maximum exposure limits for ionizing radiation and non‑ionizing radiation;

(p) governing safe use of radiation equipment or radiation sources;

(q) designating radiation equipment that requires a registration certificate under the OHS Code;

(r) governing the issue, suspension and cancellation of registration certificates under the OHS Code;

(s) governing the term and renewal dates of registration certificates under the OHS Code;

(t) prescribing the nature and frequency of inspections or maintenance programs for radiation equipment to be undertaken by the employer;

(u) adopting, in whole or in part, any health or safety code or standard respecting radiation equipment or radiation sources.

61(2)

Except to the extent that the OHS Code provides otherwise, where there is any conflict between any provisions in the OHS Code and any provisions in a secondary code, the former prevail against the latter.

61(3)

Any provision of the OHS Code may be made to apply generally or to a particular occupation, work site, prime contractor, owner, employer, contracting employer, service provider, supplier, temporary staffing agency, supervisor, worker or any class of any such category.

62(1)

Any provision of the regulations or the OHS Code may be made to apply generally or to a particular occupation, work site, prime contractor, owner, employer, contracting employer, service provider, supplier, temporary staffing agency, supervisor, worker or any class of any such category.

62(2)

Except to the extent that the regulations provide otherwise, where there is any conflict between any provisions in the regulations and any provisions in the OHS Code, the former prevail against the latter.

63(1)

For the purpose of defraying part of the costs of administering this Act and the Heroes’ Compensation Act,

(a) the Minister shall, if authorized by the regulations, make assessments on employers, or

(b) The Workers’ Compensation Board shall, if an agreement is entered into under subsection (2)(b), pay to the Crown amounts that may be prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

63(2)

The Minister and The Workers’ Compensation Board may enter into an agreement under which the Board is required to either

(a) collect on behalf of the Crown in right of Alberta assessments made on employers by the Minister, or

(b) pay to the Crown amounts that may be prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

64(1)

In this section,

(a) “document” means any notice or order referred to in this Act, the regulations or the OHS Code;

(b) “receipt” means the standard instrument or electronic signature pad device that is in normal use in the service deliverer’s business, a signature on which indicates a person’s acceptance of recorded mail handled by that service deliverer;

(c) “recorded mail” means any form of delivery of notices or other documents by mail or courier in which receipt of the notice or other document must be acknowledged in writing by the addressee or another individual present at the addressee’s address;

(d) “service deliverer” means the entity that provides the mail or courier service referred to in clause (c).

64(2)

For the purposes of subsection (1), the written acknowledgment of the document must include the signature on the applicable receipt of the addressee or another individual present at the addressee’s address.

64(3)

The electronic method referred to in this section consists of transmission by facsimile machine to the addressee’s facsimile number or by email to the addressee’s email address.

64(4)

For the purposes of this section, service of a document is presumed to be effected,

(a) if the document is sent by recorded mail, on the date the receipt is signed in accordance with this section, unless the contrary is proved, or

(b) if the document is transmitted by facsimile machine or email, when it is transmitted, unless it is proved that the facsimile or email containing the document was not received at the addressee’s facsimile number or email address, as the case may be.

64(5)

This section does not apply to documents served in court proceedings.

64(6)

A notice or other document that is required to be served under this Act, the regulations or the OHS Code may, in addition to any other method provided by law, be served

(a) in the case of an individual,

(i) personally or by being left for the individual at

(A) an address provided by the individual to an officer with an individual present at that address,

(B) the individual’s residence or last known residence with an individual present at that address, or

(C) the individual’s workplace or last known workplace with an individual who represents himself or herself as being in charge of that workplace,

(ii) by ordinary mail or recorded mail sent to the individual at

(A) an address provided by the individual to an officer,

(B) the individual’s residence or last known residence, or

(C) the individual’s workplace or last known workplace,

(iii) by facsimile or email sent to the individual at a facsimile number or email address provided by the individual to an officer for the purposes of service on that individual,

(iv) by being sent to a lawyer or agent who is representing the individual on the matter to which the document being served relates, or

(v) as directed by the Court of Queen’s Bench on application,

(b) in the case of a corporation,

(i) by being left with

(A) a director or officer of the corporation,

(B) an individual who represents himself or herself as being in charge of a place where the corporation carries on business, or

(C) an individual at the registered office of the corporation or, for an extra‑provincial corporation, at the office of the attorney of the corporation,

(ii) by being sent by ordinary mail or recorded mail to

(A) a place of business of the corporation,

(B) the registered office of the corporation,

(C) a director of the corporation at the director’s residence or last known residence, or

(D) an address designated by the corporation as its address for service under an enactment of Alberta,

(iii) by facsimile or email sent to a facsimile number or email address provided by a representative of the corporation to an officer for service on that corporation,

(iv) by being sent to a lawyer or agent representing the corporation on the matter to which the document being served relates, or

(v) directed by the Court of Queen’s Bench on application,

and

(c) in the case of a partnership

(i) by being left with any partner of the partnership or an individual who represents himself or herself as being in charge of a place where the partnership carries on business,

(ii) by being sent by ordinary mail or recorded mail to

(A) a place of business of the partnership,

(B) a partner of the partnership at the partner’s residence or last known residence, or

(C) an address designated by a partnership as its address for service under an enactment of Alberta,

(iii) by facsimile or email sent to a facsimile number or email address provided by a representative of the corporation to an officer for service on that corporation,

(iv) by being sent to a lawyer or agent representing the corporation on the matter to which the document being served relates,

(v) as directed by the Court of Queen’s Bench on application, or

(vi) by service on a partner in accordance with clause (b), in the case of a partner that is a corporation.

64(7)

Where it is necessary to prove service of any notice or other document in the course of any proceeding or prosecution under this Act, the regulations or the OHS Code, service is effected

(a) if the notice or other document is served personally or left in accordance with subsection (6)(a)(i), (b)(i) or (c)(i), on the date it is served or left,

(b) if the document or notice is sent by recorded mail, on the date acknowledgment of receipt is signed,

(c) if the notice or other document is sent by facsimile, on the date the person sending the notice or other document receives a confirmation of the successfully completed transmission,

(d) if the notice or other document is sent by email, on the date the email was sent, or

(e) if the notice or other document is sent by ordinary mail,

(i) 7 days from the date of mailing if the notice or other document is mailed in Alberta to an address in Alberta, or

(ii) subject to subclause (i), 14 days from the date of mailing if the notice or other document is mailed in Canada to an address in Canada.

65

No action or proceeding lies or shall be commenced against the Crown, the Minister, a Director, an officer, the appeal body, an appeal body member or a staff member of the appeal body for anything in good faith done, caused or permitted or authorized to be done, attempted to be done or omitted to be done by that person or by any of those persons pursuant to or in the exercise or supposed exercise of any power conferred by this Act, the regulations or the OHS Code or in the carrying out or supposed carrying out of any order made pursuant to this Act or any duty imposed by this Act, the regulations or the OHS Code.

66

The Crown is bound by this Act.