Canada is moving toward harmonized safety training requirements across provinces and territories.
By January 1, 2027, Working at Heights and Mobile Elevating Work Platforms training are to be harmonised, with additional training requirements expected to follow.
The goal is to make sure workers have a common baseline of knowledge and skills, especially when moving between job sites. Standardizing the required training could potentially:
- reduce the need to repeat training when moving between provinces,
- make it easier to manage training and records,
- and help workers start jobs faster on multi-site projects.
Harmonized training can improve efficiency, but it must be applied critically to ensure safety standards remain strong and training remains relevant to real workplace hazards.
This month’s bulletin discusses the pros and cons of safety training harmonization, and the additional work still required to ensure workers remain informed, competent, and confident in their ability to work safely.
Easier Expectations!
Harmonized training creates common expectations and learning outcomes for workers who move between provinces and territories. This helps ensure that workers have a consistent understanding of safety requirements regardless of where they are working
It also reduces the number of jurisdiction-specific differences that employers need to manage in training content, delivery, and recordkeeping. As a result, organizations can operate more efficiently across multiple locations.
Additionally, standardized requirements can allow companies to more easily compare incident trends and evaluate training effectiveness across different sites. This can make it easier to identify potential program gaps and lagging indicators for improvement.
Lower Expectations.
So, what’s the problem then?
Harmonized standards do not always represent the highest level of protection. In fact, in some cases, they may reflect the minimum acceptable requirements. Standardized requirements can often trend towards the lowest common denominator and can lower previously higher standards to meet in the middle. Therefore, some jurisdictions may experience stricter requirements, while others may become more lenient or more vague than current expectations outlined.
This is especially important to keep in mind for regional jurisdictions and local hazards. Regional-specific and job-specific hazards will may still require additional training or competency assessments beyond the standardized requirements.
Key Takeaways
Do not assume that “national” means “best possible.” Organizations should set internal standards that meet or exceed the protective requirements where practical, particularly for high-severity hazards. Harmonized training should be treated as a baseline, not as all-encompassing. Strong safety performance requires combining standardized training with site-specific controls and a continued focus on real workplace risks.
For more information on what this training standardization means for you and your company, or to inquire about training booking assistance, please reach out to your Kasa Consulting Advisor!