Preparations for the anticipated fall meeting are already underway. Young confirms, “staff at all levels are really working and focused on this. At my ministerial level, I speak with my colleagues in the provinces and territories, other labour ministers across the country. I think it’s time that we can have some alignment with other jurisdictions without compromising any safety standards.”

The upcoming meeting is expected to zero in on five to ten key safety regulations for harmonization, a pragmatic approach that aims for tangible progress. “We want to find things that bring us together. We want to find commonalities…areas we can work together,” Young says.

Fred Jeffers, executive director of the occupational health and safety division in Nova Scotia, echoes the sense of momentum. “Senior leaders from across the country are thinking about this and are wanting to get together and, you know, see what we can do and see what some of the possibilities might be. It’s very exciting,” Jeffers says.

Jeffers points to the importance of informed decision-making and stakeholder engagement. “I would challenge folks out there to learn more about the work that’s already taken place when it comes to harmonization, and so that they understand it, and to think about how harmonizing regulations could support their work, and to have a voice and to share those ideas with the regulators in their jurisdictions,” he says.

The harmonization effort builds on existing models, such as the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), which Jeffers calls “a model regulation that we all adopted regionally.” He adds, “The model is there. It can happen.”