The provincial government is looking to amend legislation that will if passed require automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) at longer-term construction sites.
Ontario is the first province to propose this sort of change.
This builds on previous labour changes introduced in 2022 that added the requirement of naloxone kits in at-risk workplaces.
“Our government is protecting Ontario workers that are building our province by requiring AEDs on construction sites,” said Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini. “Our skilled workers are at the centre of our government’s plan to build highways, energy and key infrastructure. Ensuring lifesaving equipment is where it’s needed to keep them safe is one more way we’re creating safer workplaces.”
According to the provincial government, cardiac events, including sudden cardiac arrest, are a leading cause of workplace fatalities, with construction workers being at higher risk.
AEDs are electronic devices used to restart a person’s heart if it has stopped beating.
The province added that when used together with CPR in the first few minutes after a cardiac arrest, AEDs can dramatically improve cardiac arrest survival rates by more than 50 per cent.
The proposed amendments would require AEDs on construction projects that are expected to last three months or longer with 20 or more workers.
To support businesses with the costs, a proposed program through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) would reimburse constructors for the purchase of an AED.
