Property or Facility Manager

My Responsibilities

1. Hiring a contractor

These documents offer perspectives to consider when planning to hire a contractor.

Get it in Writing
Brochure from the Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC), Canadian Homebuilders Association (CHBA), and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Remember to Build in Safety
Brochure from the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB)
Health and Safety Guide for Contracting Out Work (W006)
Owners/employers are legally responsible for the health and safety of all workers on a site, including subcontracted employees.
Hiring Qualified Tradespeople in Ontario

2. Duties of employers

Who is an employer?
Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) defines an employer as:

“Employer” means a person who employs one or more workers or contracts for the services of one or more workers and includes a contractor or subcontractor who performs work or supplies services and a contractor or subcontractor who undertakes with an owner, constructor, contractor or subcontractor to perform work or supply services; (“employeur”)

Are you also a constructor?
An owner can inadvertently (or purposely) make themselves a “constructor” depending on the amount of control or coordination they exercise over the work.

The OHSA defines a constructor as:

“Constructor” means a person who undertakes a project for an owner and includes an owner who undertakes all or part of a project by himself or by more than one employer; (“constructeur”)

Are you also an owner?
The OHSA defines an owner as:

"Owner" includes a trustee, receiver, mortgagee in possession, tenant, lessee, or occupier of any lands or premises used or to be used as a workplace, and a person who acts for or on behalf of an owner as an agent or delegate; (“propriétaire”).

Duties of employers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Duties of employers

Section 25
(1) An employer shall ensure that,

(a) the equipment, materials and protective devices as prescribed are provided;
(b) the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good
condition;
(c) the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace;
(d) the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are used as prescribed;
and
(e) a building, structure, or any part thereof, or any other part of a workplace, whether temporary or
permanent, is capable of supporting any loads that may be applied to it,
(i) as determined by the applicable design requirements established under the version of the Building
Code that was in force at the time of its construction,
(ii) in accordance with such other requirements as may be prescribed, or
(iii) in accordance with good engineering practice, if subclauses (i) and (ii) do not apply.

Duties of constructors under the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Section 23
(1) A constructor shall ensure, on a project undertaken by the constructor that,

(a) the measures and procedures prescribed by this Act and the regulations are carried out on the project;
(b) every employer and every worker performing work on the project complies with this Act and the
regulations; and
(c) the health and safety of workers on the project is protected.

Notice of project
(2) Where so prescribed, a constructor shall, before commencing any work on a project, give to a Director notice in writing of the project containing such information as may be prescribed. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, s. 23.

Duties of owners under the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Section 29
(1) The owner of a workplace that is not a project shall,

(a) ensure that,
(i) such facilities as are prescribed are provided,
(ii) any facilities prescribed to be provided are maintained as prescribed,
(iii) the workplace complies with the regulations, and
(iv) no workplace is constructed, developed, reconstructed, altered or added to except in compliance with
this Act and the regulations; and
(v) where so prescribed, furnish to a Director any drawings, plans or specifications of any workplace as
prescribed.

Other duties of owners and constructors under the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Section 30
(1) Before beginning a project, the owner shall determine whether any designated substances are present at the project site and shall prepare a list of all designated substances that are present at the site.

Tenders
(2) If any work on a project is tendered, the person issuing the tenders shall include, as part of the tendering information, a copy of the list referred to in subsection (1).

(3) An owner shall ensure that a prospective constructor of a project on the owner’s property has received a copy of the list referred to in subsection (1) before entering into a binding contract with the constructor.

Duty of constructors
(4) The constructor for a project shall ensure that each prospective contractor and subcontractor for the project has received a copy of the list referred to in subsection (1) before the prospective contractor or subcontractor enters into a binding contract for the supply of work on the project.

Liability
(5) An owner who fails to comply with this section is liable to the constructor and every contractor and subcontractor who suffers any loss or damages as the result of the subsequent discovery on the project of a designated substance that the owner ought reasonably to have known of but that was not on the list prepared under subsection (1).

(6) A constructor who fails to comply with this section is liable to every contractor and subcontractor who suffers any loss or damages as the result of the subsequent discovery on the project of a designated substance that was on the list prepared under subsection (1). R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, s. 30.