Program directory · Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Occupational health and safety information and services
- Program code
- BFZ01 (CCOHS)
- Core responsibility
- National Occupational Health and Safety Resource
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The goal of this public service program is to provide easy access to credible, impartial information on occupational health and safety to help workers in Canada be safe at work, and support employers, labour groups and governments in their efforts to work safely and create healthy and safe workplaces. Workers and employers in Canada can access a free, confidential service to have their health and safety questions answered personally via telephone, e-mail, person-to-person, fax or mail. In addition, a broad range of online and print resources are offered which support safety and health information needs of workers in Canada. Products and services may be financially supported through cost recovery efforts, contributions from the Government of Canada and contributions from various stakeholders. CCOHS collects, evaluates, creates and publishes authoritative information resources on occupational health and safety for the benefit of the working population in Canada. This information is used for education and training, research, development of policy and best practices, improvement of health and safety programs, achieving compliance, and for personal use. CCOHS promotes and facilitates consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions and participation by labour, employers and other stakeholders in order to assist in the establishment and maintenance of high standards and occupational health and safety initiatives for the Canadian context.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational health and safety information and services | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $58.9M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Number of collections of occupational health and safety related records made available to Canadians and workers in Canada through repository tools; Number of learning activities and opportunities on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors; Number of new collaborative initiatives with a tripartite perspective on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, where knowledge outcomes are serviceable across Canada; Number of new tools made available to workers in Canada which address emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors; Number of social media impressions on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is referenced as the source; Number of times users accessed the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s free online repository of occupational health and safety information or used its person-to-person support services | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: Number of Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety podcast listens promoting occupational health and safety information; Number of Canadian web sessions promoting occupational health and safety information; Number of National media sightings promoting occupational health and safety information where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety was referenced as the source; Number of Social Media impressions promoting occupational health and safety information where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety was referenced as the source; Percentage of Canadian users of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's website who indicated that their awareness of occupational health and safety has increased as a result of the information and/or resources provided; Percentage of Safety InfoLine users who say they use the information to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety; Percentage of subscribers to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's Health and Safety Report who say they use the information to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Number of times users in Canada accessed the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s website.; Percentage of survey respondents who indicate product or service met their occupational health and safety needs. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Number of collections of occupational health and safety related records made available to Canadians and workers in Canada through repository tools; Number of learning activities and opportunities on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors; Number of new collaborative initiatives with a tripartite perspective on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, where knowledge outcomes are serviceable across Canada; Number of new tools made available to workers in Canada which address emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors; Number of social media impressions on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is referenced as the source; Number of times users accessed the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s free online repository of occupational health and safety information or used its person-to-person support services | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Percentage of users of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's website who indicated that information was easy to access.
Expected result: Canadians have access to high quality, timely and accurate information and services that meet their occupational health and safety needs.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 65% – 75% | 2020 | 85% We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | 65% – 75% | 2021 | 86% Information related to COVID-19 was front and center on CCOHS’ website making it easy to find. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | 75% – 90% | 2022 | 86% | Met |
| 2022-23 | 75% – 90% | 2023 | 90% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 80% | 2024 | 90% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 80% | 2025 | 90% | Met |
Number of collections of occupational health and safety related records made available to Canadians and workers in Canada through repository tools
Expected result: Provide Canadians and workers in Canada with a National repository of key occupational health and safety knowledge, standards, statistics, and information tools that improves dissemination of occupational health and safety related information
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 1 – 3 | 2021 | 1 | Met |
| 2021-22 | 1 – 3 | 2022 | 1 | Met |
| 2022-23 | 1 – 3 | 2023 | 4 Additional collections were created for COVID-19 resources and mental health. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1 | 2024 | 3 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1 | 2025 | 3 | Met |
Number of learning activities and opportunities on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors
Expected result: Canadians and workers in Canada can easily access the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's occupational health and safety information and services
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 100 – 140 | 2021 | 125 | Met |
| 2021-22 | 100 – 140 | 2022 | 116 | Met |
| 2022-23 | 100 – 140 | 2023 | 52 CCOHS has changes the way that learning initiatives are counted, this number reflects only the new initiatives that were developed in fiscal year 2022-23. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 100 | 2024 | 74 In 2022-23, CCOHS changed the way that learning initiatives are counted. This number reflects only the new initiatives that were developed in fiscal year 2023-24. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 75 | 2025 | 81 | Met |
Number of new collaborative initiatives with a tripartite perspective on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, where knowledge outcomes are serviceable across Canada
Expected result: Through the facilitation of collaborative initiatives with labour, employers and/or government on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, knowledge outcomes are utilized for the benefit of Canadians and workers throughout Canada
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 1 – 6 | 2021 | 5 | Met |
| 2021-22 | 1 – 6 | 2022 | 8 Collaborations with Health Canada resulted in several new initiatives including health class decision trees, an indoor air quality technical guide, and a hazard risk mitigation guide and hazard OEL (Occupational Exposure Limits) notation. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | 1 – 6 | 2023 | 9 Following the successful collaboration with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, CCOHS sought additional collaborative opportunities. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 2 | 2024 | 5 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 2 | 2025 | 3 | Met |
Number of new tools made available to workers in Canada which address emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors
Expected result: Provide Canadians and workers in Canada with a National repository of key occupational health and safety knowledge, standards, statistics, and information tools that improves dissemination of occupational health and safety related information
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 20 – 30 | 2021 | 79 As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, several new tools and resources were developed to support workers and businesses in Canada. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | 20 – 30 | 2022 | 39 As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, several new tools and resources were developed to support workers and businesses in Canada. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | 20 – 30 | 2023 | 27 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 20 | 2024 | 25 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 20 | 2025 | 27 | Met |
Number of social media impressions on emerging occupational health and safety issues and for priority sectors, where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is referenced as the source
Expected result: Canadians and workers in Canada can easily access the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's occupational health and safety information and services
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 0 – 2,500,000 | 2021 | 2,925,959 CCOHS’ profile increased significantly with the Labour Minister’s mentions and increased social media postings promoting new COVID-19 tip sheets. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | 1 – 3,000,000 | 2022 | 5,450,000 Social media impressions were much higher due to the placement of paid social media ads promoting safe work practices. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | 1 – 3,000,000 | 2023 | 2,200,000 Social media impressions in fiscal year 2021-22 were significantly higher than usual due to paid social media advertising related to COVID-19. Impressions for 2022-23 have returned to a normal range. | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 2,500,000 | 2024 | 2,552,556 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 2,500,000 | 2025 | 2,900,000 | Met |
Number of times users accessed the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s free online repository of occupational health and safety information or used its person-to-person support services
Expected result: Provide Canadians and workers in Canada with a National repository of key occupational health and safety knowledge, standards, statistics, and information tools that improves dissemination of occupational health and safety related information
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 1,900,000 – 2,300,000 | 2021 | 4,000,000 COVID-19 gave rise to an unprecedented demand for health and safety information bringing more visitors to CCOHS’ website. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | 1,900,000 – 2,300,000 | 2022 | 3,380,000 COVID-19 increased the demand for credible health and safety information and therefore increased visits to and usage of our online fact sheets. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | 1,900,000 – 2,300,000 | 2023 | 3,756,000 COVID-19 increased the demand for credible health and safety information and therefore increased visits to and usage of our online fact sheets. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 2,300,000 | 2024 | 3,893,794 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 2,300,000 | 2025 | 3,657,289 | Met |
Number of Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety podcast listens promoting occupational health and safety information
Expected result: Canadians have an increased awareness of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 70,000 – 80,000 | 2019 | 62,363 Old content was removed, approximately 30% of the total podcast collection, thereby impacting the number of listens. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | 70,000 – 80,000 | 2020 | 65,883 In fiscal year 2018-19 CCOHS conducted a full review of its podcast inventory, to maintain content relevancy podcasts with dated content were archived resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of podcast listens. CCOHS continues to release new podcasts and the program is slowly recovering. CCOHS expects to achieve the targeted 70,000 podcast listens in the coming year. | Not met |
Number of Canadian web sessions promoting occupational health and safety information
Expected result: Canadians can easily access the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's occupational health and safety information and services
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 | 2019 | 4,200,718 We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 | 2020 | 4,986,345 We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
Number of National media sightings promoting occupational health and safety information where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety was referenced as the source
Expected result: Canadians have an increased awareness of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 550 – 600 | 2019 | 877 We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | 550 – 800 | 2020 | 957 We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
Number of Social Media impressions promoting occupational health and safety information where the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety was referenced as the source
Expected result: Canadians can easily access the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's occupational health and safety information and services
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 1,500,000 – 1,600,000 | 2019 | 2,246,613 We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | 1,500,000 – 1,900,000 | 2020 | 2,474,648 We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
Percentage of Canadian users of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's website who indicated that their awareness of occupational health and safety has increased as a result of the information and/or resources provided
Expected result: Canadians have an increased awareness of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 65% – 75% | 2020 | 85.8% We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
Percentage of Safety InfoLine users who say they use the information to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety
Expected result: Occupational health and safety information is used to improve workplace practices
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 60% – 65% | 2019 | 66% We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | 60% – 65% | 2020 | 68% We achieved and exceeded our goal. | Not met |
Percentage of subscribers to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's Health and Safety Report who say they use the information to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety
Expected result: Occupational health and safety information is used to improve workplace practices
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 60% – 72% | 2019 | 71% | Met |
| 2019-20 | 60% – 72% | 2020 | 66% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Number of times users in Canada accessed the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s website.
Expected result: Canadians have access to high quality, timely and accurate information and services that meet their occupational health and safety needs.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 3,500,000 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Percentage of survey respondents who indicate product or service met their occupational health and safety needs.
Expected result: Canadians have access to high quality, timely and accurate information and services that meet their occupational health and safety needs.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 80% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Percentage of users of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's website who indicated that information was easy to access.
Expected result: Canadians have access to high quality, timely and accurate information and services that meet their occupational health and safety needs.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 85% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $6.5M | $6.7M |
| 2019-20 | $6.1M | $7M |
| 2020-21 | $7.1M | $7.6M |
| 2021-22 | $9.3M | $8.6M |
| 2022-23 | $7.3M | $8.9M |
| 2023-24 | $7.4M | $10.3M |
| 2024-25 | $7.4M | $10M |
| 2025-26 | $8.6M | — |
| 2026-27 | $10.3M | — |
| 2027-28 | $10.2M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $9.9M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 65 | 63 |
| 2019-20 | 68 | 62 |
| 2020-21 | 71 | 71 |
| 2021-22 | 86 | 80 |
| 2022-23 | 76 | 69 |
| 2023-24 | 80 | 68 |
| 2024-25 | 63 | 69 |
| 2025-26 | 71 | — |
| 2026-27 | 74 | — |
| 2027-28 | 73* | — |
| 2028-29 | 70* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $6,506,024 | $6,506,024 | $6,506,024 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $6,106,928 | $6,106,928 | $6,106,928 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $7,129,798 | $6,126,028 | $6,126,028 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $9,336,865 | $6,429,591 | $6,429,591 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $7,270,760 | $7,270,760 | $7,270,760 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $7,390,508 | $7,390,508 | $7,390,508 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $7,367,779 | $7,367,779 | $7,367,779 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $8,619,003 | $8,619,003 | $8,619,003 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $10,323,347 | $10,203,638 | $9,869,562 | ||||||||
| Actual | $6,653,618 | $6,953,799 | $7,577,114 | $8,613,556 | $8,853,799 | $10,256,443 | $9,982,246 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
