Labour ministers discuss harmonizing provincial work safety standards

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Governments across the country are aiming to harmonize occupational health and safety requirements to make it easier for businesses who do work in different provinces and territories to adhere to the rules.

Provincial and territorial labour ministers gathered for an annual meeting with federal Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk in Prince George, B.C., on Friday.

British Columbia’s Labour Minister Shirley Bond says many companies do business across provinces and struggle to meet the unique health and safety regulations in each jurisdiction.

Bond says provincial ministers presented the federal government with a working plan of how to move forward on creating harmonized regulations.

Mihychuk says while they are looking at a two-year plan to unify standards, the government wants to speed up the process.

Labour ministers also discussed developing a more co-ordinated approach to addressing mental-health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder in the workplace.