Program Description

In February 2015, the Canadian federal government introduced changes to the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) in Canada. These changes will mean new requirements for classifying hazardous products, labelling hazardous products, and formatting Safety Data Sheets (formerly Material Safety Data Sheets).

There will be a transition period (until December 1, 2018) during which time both WHMIS systems may be used. With federal legislation now in force, suppliers may begin to follow the requirements under WHMIS 2015 immediately, while others may take longer to implement it. Until the transition period is over, workers may receive products that follow either WHMIS 1988 or WHMIS 2015 requirements.

Training Requirements

Employers must educate workers on the classification system that will be used in their workplace. If products will be classified according to WHMIS 2015 and new labels and SDSs provided, workers must receive WHMIS 2015 training. If products will be following WHMIS 1988 requirements, workers must be trained on the 1988 system. In most cases, workplaces will have some products that use the 2015 system and others that use the 1988 system. Those workers should receive training that provides information on both the WHMIS 1988 and the WHMIS 2015 system.

IHSA’s WHMIS course has been updated to meet the training requirements needed during the transition period. It educates workers on both the WHMIS 1988 system and the new WHMIS 2015 system.

Program Content

The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) program is designed to provide workers, supervisors, and other workplace parties with a basic understanding of hazard classes and categories, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and labels as they relate to the following:

• The 1988 Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS 1988)
• The 2015 Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS 2015)
• How WHMIS can be used to protect the health and safety of workers.

This program is intended to supplement workplace-specific WHMIS training provided by a worker’s employer.

Related Courses

IHSA offers an online WHMIS 2015 certificate course and a non-certificate WHMIS 1988 online program.