TORONTO — The provincial government introduced the Working for Workers Act II that, if passed, would require workplaces – such as construction sites, bars and nightclubs – employing those at risk of opioid overdoses to have naloxone kits handy. Naloxone can temporarily stunt the effects of an opioid overdose and allow time for proper medical help to arrive.
“Everyone in our province knows someone who has been impacted by the opioid epidemic,” labour minister Monte McNaughton stated in a press release.
According to the province, around 2,500 people died from opioid-related causes between March 2020 and January 2021.
Of those people, 30 per cent were reportedly employed as construction workers, “by far the most of any industry impacted,” states the release.
It’s not clear whether opioid-related deaths occurred while those individuals were working, and no other link to the workplace is presented beyond the employment statuses of those who died.
According to mental health and addictions associate minister Michael Tibollo, ensuring access to naloxone kits at work is a way for the government to “protect more Ontarians struggling with addiction from preventable deaths.”
The legislation also introduces “the highest fines in Canada” applicable to companies failing to follow workplace health and safety laws.
The proposed changes would affect the Occupational Health and Safety Act, increasing fines to $1.5 million when convicted for an unsafe work environment leading to severe injury or death. Charges for other individuals would also increase, up to $500,000.
