Legislation Introduced to Protect Offshore Workers

ENVIRONMENT/LABOUR--Legislation Introduced to Protect Offshore Workers

The government of Nova Scotia introduced legislation today, Oct. 29, that will help ensure that workers in the offshore oil and gas industry have the same kind of occupational health and safety protections as those onshore.

The legislation is designed to make occupational health and safety policies and regulations consistent for the offshore oil and gas industry and its employees on the East Coast. To achieve this, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to pass similar legislation. Legislation must also be passed by the Parliament of Canada. Nova Scotia is the first of the three partners to table proposed legislation.

"Nova Scotia takes workplace health and safety seriously, both onshore and offshore, and we are continually looking for ways to improve upon existing laws and regulations," said Environment and Labour Minister Kerry Morash. "Although we recognize the legislation may require further amendments, we're pleased to take the lead. We believe this is a solid start for our partners to work with and for stakeholders to review."

Offshore workers are currently protected by guidelines and conditions under the Offshore Accord Implementation Act interim measures, which are administered by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board. The new bill amends the current act and will give the federal and provincial ministers of Labour the authority to make recommendations to pass regulations on how the board will administer such things as standards for equipment, workplace procedures, and enforcement orders, as needed.

"This act puts into law what is largely already in practice. The Canada/Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board already requires offshore operators to do many of the things that will be covered under the act. By having them in the act, the board will be able to deal with violations more effectively," said Mr. Morash.

The province will continue consultations while the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador continue work on similar bills to ensure that the Atlantic region provides consistent legislation on offshore occupational health and safety.