The committee consists of labour and management representatives who meet on a regular basis to deal with health and safety issues. Another significant benefit is the enhancement of a cooperative attitude among all parts of the work force toward solving health and safety problems. In smaller companies with fewer than a specified number of employees a health and safety representative is generally required. Consult health and safety legislation for details. The committee may also be known as the Industrial Health and Safety Committee, Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee, Occupational Heath committee, Workplace safety and health committee, or Health and Safety Committee.
Employers are responsible for establishing workplace health and safety committees.
Most Canadian health and safety legislation set guidelines for organizing the committee, the structure of the committee, meeting frequency, and the roles and responsibilities of committee members. Employers establish terms of reference applicable to the formation, structure and functioning of the committee. A Joint Health and Safety Committee or the appointment of representatives is either mandatory or subject to ministerial decision in all Canadian jurisdictions. Certain types of workplaces may be exempt from this requirement, depending on the size of work force, industry, accident record, or some combination of these factors. The following are references to the provincial and federal legislation where you will find the guidelines for joint health and safety committees from the different jurisdictions in Canada.