The City of Toronto has taken a Safety-First approach for the working environment of contractors, employees, and residents.

Effective from March 31, 2025, suppliers of construction are required to possess an Occupational Health & Safety Management System certificate as a condition of the construction tendering process.

These certificates are an organization’s formal recognition of health and safety compliance. They can be obtained by complying with health and safety management standards and undertaking an external audit which ensures that the level of compliance has been achieved. Management systems, like FlexManager, can help you obtain and maintain these standards, ensuring that your health and safety compliance is optimized.

The statement from The City of Toronto lists the acceptable OHSMS certifications as:

• IHSA COR® 2020 – Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) Certificate of Recognition (COR)® 2020
  • For Suppliers with a Certificate of Recognition issued in a jurisdiction other than Ontario, the Supplier must also submit a Letter of Reciprocity from the IHSA along with the COR certification.
• MLITSD SOSE – Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development of Ontario (MLITSD) Supporting Ontario Safe Employers Program (SOSE) certificate; or,
• ISO 45001:2018 – International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001:2018 certificate.

ISO certificates must be issued by a certification body that is accredited by an accreditation body that is recognized by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).