Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Occupational Health and Safety Program
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGP03 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Working Conditions and Workplace Relations
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Occupational Health and Safety Program ensures that work-related injuries and illnesses are reduced and that federally regulated workplaces are healthy and safe. The program is responsible for legislation and regulations under Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) and Part IV (Administrative Monetary Penalties) of the Canada Labour Code (the Code) and the Non-Smoker’s Health Act. Employers covered by the legislation include those within industries such as: banking; rail, air, road and marine transportation; federal Crown corporations; broadcasting and telecommunications as well as the federal public service. The program helps employers and employees to understand their duties and rights under the Code, through conducting inspections and investigations, issuing directions, and initiating prosecutions to enforce compliance.
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 Program | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $220M |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage annual (year-over-year) decrease in the disabling injuries frequency (DIRF) across all sectors in federal jurisdiction (combined). | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Employees (FTEs) 273, against 225 in 2020-21 (+21%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Renamed from “Occupational Health and Safety” to “Occupational Health and Safety Program”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2024-25 | Indicators added: Percentage of Occupational Health and Safety case time devoted to prevention | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of all Occupational Health and Safety activities devoted to prevention (or proactive activities) | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators added: Percentage of all Occupational Health and Safety activities devoted to prevention (or proactive activities) | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of Occupational Health and Safety case time devoted to prevention | 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
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 60% | 2019 | 68% The Labour Program sets annual targets for high-risk industries, which are identified based on the results of their Employer’s Annual Hazardous Occurrence Report (EAHOR). The Labour Program identifies employers for proactive inspections by health and safety officers. The Labour Program’s goal is to prevent future hazardous occurrences. As such, this year the Labour Program has been able to devote… | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 60% | 2020 | 68% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 60% | 2021 | 51% The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on the work at the Labour Program. The majority of proactive work continues to be on hold. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 60% | 2022 | 65% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 60% | 2023 | 71% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 60% | 2024 | 69% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 60% | 2025 | 70% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 2% | 2019 | 0.5% The absolute number of injuries and fatalities was reduced from last year. However, the decrease in the disabling injuries frequency rates (DIFR) increased slightly given the reduction in hours worked. The reduction of hours worked over the last year may be attributed to market factors like a smaller workforce or fewer overtime hours, or could be caused by employer underreporting. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 60% | 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 | $23.6M | $27.9M |
| 2019-20 | $29.3M | $28.5M |
| 2020-21 | $30M | $33.6M |
| 2021-22 | $31.9M | $35M |
| 2022-23 | $30.4M | $32.5M |
| 2023-24 | $30.4M | $31.2M |
| 2024-25 | $32.6M | $31.5M |
| 2025-26 | $33M | — |
| 2026-27 | $30.1M | — |
| 2027-28 | $29M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $28.9M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 208 | 224 |
| 2019-20 | 233 | 217 |
| 2020-21 | 234 | 225 |
| 2021-22 | 249 | 273 |
| 2022-23 | 234 | 266 |
| 2023-24 | 234 | 229 |
| 2024-25 | 234 | 227 |
| 2025-26 | 232 | — |
| 2026-27 | 208 | — |
| 2027-28 | 198* | — |
| 2028-29 | 199* | — |
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 | $23,570,624 | $23,570,624 | $23,570,624 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $29,326,409 | $30,091,173 | $29,699,173 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $29,990,996 | $29,598,996 | $30,069,504 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $31,928,506 | $31,071,599 | $31,071,599 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $30,436,950 | $30,436,950 | $30,436,950 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $30,439,769 | $30,439,769 | $30,439,769 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $32,644,019 | $32,658,521 | $32,505,190 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $33,004,088 | $32,848,981 | $32,848,981 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $30,117,004 | $28,962,708 | $28,889,907 | ||||||||
| Actual | $27,868,528 | $28,493,289 | $33,610,774 | $35,022,063 | $32,486,767 | $31,160,437 | $31,529,201 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
