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Understanding the Legislation
Alberta's "New" Occupational Health and Safety Legislation came into effect April 1, 2004. The government department responsible for Occupational Health and Safety is Human Resources and Employment. Within that department is WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY which is responsible for administering the Occupational Health and Safety legislation. Links to Alberta Occupational Health and Safety legislation, may be found at the Alberta Workplace Health and Safety website. The Act, the Regulations, the Code and the Code Explanation Guide may all be found at this site.
General obligations are contained in the Act and in the Regulations and more specific requirements are contained in the Code. All are legally binding.
This legislation consists of three parts:
- Occupational Health and Safety Act - legally binding, contains general obligations
- Occupational Health and Safety Regulation - legally binding, contains general obligations
- Occupational Health and Safety Code (2006) - legally binding, contains more specific requirements
- Occupational Health and Safety Code Explanation Guide (2006). The Code Explanation Guide has no legal authority but is very useful because:
- It uses examples to explain the intent of the Code requirements,
- Gives suggestions to provide assistance with code compliance
- In some cases is provides technical detail
- Quick Reference Chart to the OH&S legislation.
