If your organisation operates in Ontario, Canada, and has 20 or more workers, there is a deadline you need to be aware of. From 1 July 2026, Ontario’s Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certification training programme undergoes its most significant overhaul in years, introducing a modernised curriculum, flexible delivery options, and new requirements for maintaining certification.

The changes come from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and apply under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). They affect employers across construction, manufacturing, healthcare, the public sector, and any other Ontario workplace where a JHSC is required.  
  

What Is Changing and Why It Matters

Ontario’s OHSA requires most workplaces with 20 or more workers to have a Joint Health and Safety Committee. At least one worker representative and one management representative on that committee must be certified through an approved training programme. Certification is not optional, and proof of it must be available to Ministry of Labour inspectors on request.

From 1 July 2026, the certification training programme standard changes in several important ways. The curriculum is being expanded to place greater emphasis on occupational illness, workplace violence and harassment, JHSC member mental health, and how to evaluate committee effectiveness. Training delivery is being modernised to include hybrid, online distance, and eLearning options alongside traditional classroom instruction. Critically, the requirement to retake Parts One and Two when a certification expires is being removed and replaced with a simpler Refresher course pathway, making it easier for organisations to maintain their certified members without extensive disruption.

Existing certifications remain valid and are not affected by these changes. Current certification training programmes remain valid until 30 June 2026. From 1 July 2026, the new standard applies. 
  

The Compliance Risk Hiding in Plain Sight

The practical risk for many Ontario employers is not that they are unaware of JHSC requirements. Most safety managers and HR teams know the rules. The risk is operational: tracking which JHSC members are certified, when their certification expires, whether Refresher training has been booked in advance, and whether proof of certification is stored in a format that is accessible to inspectors.

This kind of workforce compliance tracking looks simple in theory. In practice, organisations managing large teams, multiple sites, or high staff turnover often find that certification records sit in spreadsheets, email chains, or HR systems that were not built for this purpose. When an inspector arrives, or when a certified member’s training lapses unnoticed, the consequences range from compliance notices to prosecution under the OHSA.

The new July 2026 changes also add a layer of administrative complexity. The shift to flexible delivery means more training options, but also more variation in training providers, completion records, and certification pathways to track. The expanded curriculum means Refresher content is changing, and employers need to ensure that upcoming training is aligned with the new standard, not the old one. 
  

Tracking JHSC Compliance in a Changing Landscape

Organisations that manage workforce compliance well do not rely on memory or manual tracking. They use systems that automate the tracking of certification status, flag upcoming expiry dates, record training completions against individual worker profiles, and produce reports that are ready for inspection without last-minute searching.

This is a core strength of FlexManager. The training management module within FlexManager allows organisations to track certification records, set expiry alerts, schedule and record training completions, and report on compliance status across teams and sites in real time. When JHSC certifications are logged in FlexManager, managers receive automatic alerts before they expire, rather than discovering a lapse after the fact.

Beyond JHSC certification, FlexManager supports the broader health and safety compliance picture that Ontario employers must manage: risk assessments, incident reporting, inspections, audit trails, contractor management, and workforce management. The 2026 curriculum changes mean that JHSC members will increasingly need to engage with topics like occupational illness and workplace violence prevention. A platform that connects training records, risk assessments, and incident data gives organisations a much more complete view of their compliance position.   
   

Practical Steps for Ontario Employers Before 1 July 2026

Before the deadline, employers should confirm which JHSC members currently hold valid certification, check when each certification is due for Refresher training, ensure that any pending training is booked with an approved provider offering the new curriculum, and confirm that certification records are stored in a system that is accessible to inspectors.

These steps are straightforward when your compliance data is organised. They become genuinely difficult when it is scattered across filing systems, email inboxes, and individual managers’ calendars.

Struggling to keep track of certifications and training deadlines across your sites? FlexManager gives you the tools to manage workforce compliance from one place. Book a demo today and see how it works.