Links / Liens

In this section, you will find information on a variety of issues that relate to workers’ employment standards and health and safety rights. Scroll down and click on the highlighted text to access the links.

Dans cette section, vous trouverez des renseignements sur différentes questions relatives aux normes d’emploi des travailleurs et à leurs droits en matière de santé et sécurité. Faites défiler vers le bas et cliquez sur le texte en surbrillance pour accéder aux liens.


(En anglais seulement)

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) – provides free legal services to low-income people in Ontario. LAO seeks to ensure that healthy communities include legal services and access to justice.

  • Tel (416) 979-1446 / Toll free 1-800-668-8258
  • Click here to access all community and specialty legal clinics in Ontario.
  • Click here to find your community legal clinic closest to where you live.

Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario (IAVGO) – provides free services to injured workers in Ontario including legal advice, legal representation, public legal education, advocacy training and community development. IAVGO is a specialty legal clinic funded by LAO that assists with WSIB matters.

  • Tel (416) 924-6744 / Toll free 1-877-230-6311

Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic (IWC) – provides information, advice and representation to injured workers, and seeks better treatment for injured workers by the workers’ compensation system, their employers and the government. IWC is a specialty legal clinic funded by LAO that assists with WSIB matters.

  • Tel (416) 461-2411

Office of the Worker Adviser (OWA) – assists non-unionized workers, who do not meet Legal Aid Ontario’s financial eligibility criteria but can not afford legal representation. OWA is a free agency of the Ministry of Labour, and assists with WSIB appeals.

  • Workplace insurance issues: Toll free 1-800-435-8980

Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) – produces clear and practical legal information to help people understand and exercise their legal rights in such legal areas as family, criminal, consumer, domestic abuse, employment, disability, housing, immigration, social assistance and pensions.


Law Society Referral Service (LSRS) – connects people looking for legal assistance and/or representation with a lawyer or paralegal. LSRS provides a free consultation of up to 30 minutes to help you determine your rights and options when dealing with a legal issue.

  • Tel (416) 947-5255 / Toll free 1-855-947-5255

Pro Bono Ontario – offers free volunteer-based legal help to persons across the province of Ontario who can not afford a lawyer. Pro Bono Ontario provides a free consultation of up to 40 minutes to help you determine your rights and options when dealing with a legal issue. They also support start-ups, artists, social service organizations and social entrepreneurs with the legal issues.

Artists’ Legal Advice Services (ALAS) – provides free volunteer-based summary legal advice to artists living in Ontario, and typically assists with issues relating to contracts, defamation, copyright, trademarks and royalties or other payments.

Law Society of Ontario (LSO) – regulates Ontario’s lawyers and paralegals in the public interest, and facilitates access to justice for the people of Ontario.


ONTARIO WORKERS’ RESOURCES

Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) – oversees occupational health and safety, employment rights and responsibilities, labour relations, and provides information on employment and health and safety rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) – works to promote, protect and advance human rights through research, education, targeted legal action and policy development.

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) – resolves claims of discrimination and harassment brought under Ontario’s Human Rights Code . Human rights applications are filed and decided at the HRTO using such processes as mediation and hearings.

Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) – offers human rights legal services to individuals throughout Ontario who have experienced discrimination contrary to Ontario’s Human Rights Code. Services may include legal assistance in filing applications and legal representation.

  • Toll free 1-866-625-5179

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) – resolves matters related to workers’ compensation support for workers who experience injury or illness in the workplace. The WSIB is an independent trust agency that administers compensation to workers and no-fault insurance for Ontario workplaces.

  • Tel (416) 344-1000 / Toll free 1-800-387-0750

Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) – resolves labour and employment disputes stemming from such laws as the Employment Standards Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The OLRB mediates and adjudicates a variety of employment and labour relations-related matters.

Settlement.Org / Welcome to Ontario – provides newcomers with information and resources to settle in Ontario, Canada. These online resources are managed by the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI).

  • Click here to access their legal services information.

Workers Action Centre (WAC) – is a worker-based organization committed to improving the lives and working conditions of people in low wage and unstable employment.

  • Justice for Workers Movement) – join the fight for decent work! As Ontario workers are struggling to get by, more and more decent jobs are being replaced by low-wage and precarious work.

Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) – seeks to protect workers and their communities from occupational disease, injuries and illnesses, and to promote the social, mental and physical well-being of workers and their families.

  • Toronto Office - Tel (416) 449-0009 / Toll free 1-877-817-0336
  • Provincial Office - Tel (416) 510-8317 / Toll free 1-877-817-0336

Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) – is Canada’s largest provincial labour federation that serves as an umbrella group for working people and their unions, and represents over one million Ontario workers.

  • Prevention Link – is a disability prevention program that focuses on the link between the primary and secondary prevention of occupational injury, illness and disease in Ontario workplaces.

Government of Ontario – provides information for job seekers and businesses, and includes a variety of programs and resources to help you plan your career, get training, know your rights, find a job or hire workers for your business.


FEDERAL WORKERS’ RESOURCES

Employment and Social Development Canada: Health and Safety – provides information on workplace hazards, rights and responsibilities, health and wellness, injury prevention, compensation and the federal Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System.

Government of Canada Labour Program – works proactively with employers to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses in federally regulated workplaces by providing information on improving health and safety in their organizations.

Federal Labour Standards and Equity– provides information to federally employed workers on such workplace rights as termination and severance pay, minimum wage, hours of work, vacation and leave, and pay equity.

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) – promotes safe and healthy working environments by providing information and advice about occupational health and safety. The CCOHS also provides tools and resources to improve workplace health and safety programs.

Standards Council of Canada (SCC) – is a federal Crown corporation that seeks to promote efficient and effective standardization in Canada.

Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) – is the the largest labour organization in Canada that encompasses dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent 3.3 million workers.


LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & CASE LAW RESOURCES

Ontario e-LAWS – provides an online resource to access official copies of Ontario’s statutes and regulations. This resource does not provide legal advice, interpret the law or conduct research.

CanLII – is a non-profit organization making Canadian law accessible online. CanLII maintains a website dedicated to providing access to a virtual library of Canadian legal information that includes provincial and federal statutes, regulations and case law.

Justice Laws Web Site – provides an online resource of consolidated acts and regulations of Canada. The consolidations of these legal sources are generally updated every two weeks.

Ontario Court of Justice – deals with a wide range of family law cases as well as the majority of criminal charges laid within the province. It has jurisdictions over adult criminal, youth criminal, family law, child welfare and provincial offence matters.

Superior Court of Justice – has jurisdiction over criminal, civil, and family cases, and is the largest superior trial court in Canada. The three branches of this court are the Divisional Court, Small Claims Court and Family Court.

Court of Appeal for Ontario – its jurisdiction includes consideration of both civil and criminal appeals made from decisions of Ontario’s two trial courts, the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice.

Supreme Court of Canada – Canada’s final court of appeal serves Canadians by deciding legal issues of public importance, thereby contributing to the development of all branches of law within Canada.

Legislative Assembly of Ontario – provides information on Members of Provincial Parliament, bills and other legislative business, as well as transcripts and records of legislative and committee meetings.

  • Click here to access more information on lawmaking in Ontario.

Parliament of Canada – provides information on Members of Parliament, the Senate, the House of Commons, bills and other legislative business.


CHEMICAL HAZARD RESOURCES

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) – is a division of the American Chemical Society dedicated to providing a comprehensive directory that contains more than 123 million unique organic and inorganic chemical substances.

  • CAS Registry Numbers are universally used to provide a unique, unmistakable identifier for chemical substances.

American Chemical Society (ACS) – serves more than 157,000 members globally, and provides educational and career development programs, products, and services. As the largest scientific society in the world, ACS is a leading and authoritative source of scientific information.

National Nuclear Data Centre (NNDC) – collects, evaluates, and disseminates nuclear physics data for basic nuclear research and for applied nuclear technologies. The NNDC is a worldwide resource for nuclear data.

REACH = Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances – is a European Community Regulation that aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through better and earlier identification of the properties of chemical substances.

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – is the driving force among regulatory authorities in implementing the EU’s groundbreaking chemicals legislation for the benefit of human health and the environment as well as for innovation and competitiveness.

Avantor Performance Materials – seeks to enable the next generation of health and technology solutions and empower customers to innovate with confidence.

  • Click here to access their Safety Data Sheets Library.

U.S. & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY RESOURCES

How to Prevent Discrimination in Your Workplace - A resource developed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

U.S. Department of Labour: Occupational Safety & Health Administration – seeks to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.

U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) – is an independent federal agency  that investigates accidents to protect workers, the public and the environment in the United States.

U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) – works to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining, and promotes safe and healthful workplaces for miners in the United States.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – its mission is to protect human health and the environment:

  • Click here for information on chemicals and toxins.

U.S. Library of Congress – contains 17 million catalog records for books, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, recordings, images, and electronic resources in the Library of Congress collections.

New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) – is a membership organization of workers, unions, community-based organizations, workers’ rights activists, and health and safety professionals. NYCOSH uses training, education, and advocacy to improve health and safety conditions in workplaces and communities.

NIH National Cancer Institute – is a comprehensive source for cancer information located in the United States.

International Labour Organization (ILO) – is a United Nations’ agency that brings together governments, employers and workers’ representatives of 187 member states, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – brings together expert knowledge to develop voluntary, consensus-based international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global health and safety challenges.