September 25, 2020 in Blog, Business, Safety

New MOL Inspectors coming

The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is kicking off a recruiting campaign to hire
more health and safety inspectors.
The province said inspectors are needed more than ever to curb the threat of COVID-19.
The ministry is targeting as many as 98, boosting the ranks from 409 to 507, the largest in the
province’s history.
Job ads will be posted in early October. Applicants have a month to apply. Training begins later this
fall.

The cost of Inspectors

The anticipated full-year cost of the new inspectors will be $11.6 million.
Inspectors have broad powers in ensuring workplaces are adhering to occupational health and safety
legislation.
These include:

  • inspect any workplace and ensure they have COVID protections in place;
  • investigate any potentially hazardous situation, critical injury, fatality and work refusal;
  • order compliance with the legislation;
  • stop unsafe work from being performed; and
  • recommend and initiate prosecutions.
    “Our government is taking the steps necessary to protect Ontario workers on the job and keep our
    economy on the road to full recovery,” said Labour, Training and Skills Development Minister Monte
    McNaughton in a release.
    “By adding more inspectors to our team, we can respond faster to situations as they arise and help
    make sure that every office, plant, store and job site in this province is safe, during COVID-19 and
    beyond.”
    On the inspection front, the ministry said between March 11 and September 8 inspectors conducted
    19,411 inspections and investigations related to COVID-19 and issued 16,520 orders while on those
    visits.