This post is linked to another news post which discussed deputy ministers across Canada meeting to discuss Safety Harmonization. This can be found here.

Federal, provincial, and territorial deputy ministers met behind closed doors last week to discuss the ongoing effort to harmonize occupational health and safety (OHS) requirements across Canada. The meeting, held on October 22, brought together senior officials from across the country to review progress and set the stage for future collaboration.

In a statement provided to Canadian Occupational Safety, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) described the meeting as “productive,” noting that it covered “various labour topics, such as harmonization of occupational health and safety requirements.” The department added, “This operational meeting aimed to take stock of the progress made across jurisdictions, to discuss priorities and topics of mutual interest, and to advance cooperatively. This groundwork will help identify shared priorities to be discussed at the next FPT Ministers meeting, which will take place in the spring of 2026.”

Regulatory alignment seen as essential first step

While the government’s statement emphasized cooperation and incremental progress, industry stakeholders continue to express concern about the pace and focus of the harmonization process. Kevin Brown, CEO of Cobalt Safety Consulting, said in an interview that meaningful harmonization must begin with regulatory alignment, not training standards.

“You can’t harmonize training standards until you harmonize the regulatory law underneath it,” Brown said. “You just can’t build a bridge on shaky foundations, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do. The bridge for Canada and Canadian workers is great, but if we don’t get the foundation right for the employers and for the workers in clear understanding, I think we’re all going to struggle with the outcomes.”

Brown, who has provided recommendations to both federal and provincial officials, believes the real challenge lies in aligning existing laws rather than creating new ones. “That’s what we got to get to—that standard at a regulatory level. It’s a bigger lift. It’s also the harder one. But hard is what we need to be doing when it comes to getting the systems aligned,” he said.

Complexity and confusion for employers

The complexity of Canada’s regulatory landscape is a recurring theme among safety professionals. Dave Turner, president of Health and Safety Professionals of Canada, questioned the government’s focus on certification as the first step. “I’m not sure where they got the idea that certification was the first step. We told them that there is a National Fire Code and Building Code so we need something similar when it comes to OHS Regulations. Provinces’ regulations are similar in some instances but not in every situation,” Turner commented on LinkedIn.

Wayne Pardy, an auditor and author of several HSEQ auditing books, highlighted the practical challenges faced by employers operating across multiple jurisdictions. “When I was with one of them the safety schizophrenia which resulted from seeking to meet CLC Part II requirements, in addition to the select requirements of different provinces was a cluster. . . Try developing a regulatory applicability matrix to meet those many and varied federal and provincial requirements, often conflicting with one another. Come on Canada. We can do better,” Pardy wrote.

Next steps: From dialogue to action

Despite the frustrations voiced by industry experts, there is consensus the current dialogue represents a necessary first step. Brown acknowledged that, while progress is slow, ongoing conversations are preferable to inaction. However, he warned the current pace may not be sufficient to achieve meaningful harmonization. “If we’re really serious about harmonizing stuff, we need to get to a National Council for Safety Harmonization.”

Looking ahead, the groundwork laid during last week’s meeting will inform the agenda for the next Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Ministers meeting in spring 2026. Stakeholders across the country will be watching closely to see whether the focus shifts from discussion to concrete action—particularly on the foundational issue of regulatory alignment.

As provinces and the federal government continue to navigate the complexities of OHS harmonization, the call from industry is clear: meaningful progress will require both urgency and a willingness to tackle the hardest issues first.