Westray amendments (Criminal Code s. 217.1)

The Westray Bill, or Bill C-45, amended the Criminal Code and became law on March 31, 2004, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). A buyer or officer meets it when asking who directs work at the business and what happens after a serious workplace incident.

What the Code says

Section 217.1 reads: everyone who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task. Section 22.1 deals with offences that require proof of negligence: an organization is a party if, acting within the scope of their authority, one of its representatives is a party to the offence, or two or more of its representatives engage in conduct that would have made one representative a party had it been that one’s conduct alone; and the responsible senior officer, or the senior officers collectively, depart markedly from the standard of care that could reasonably be expected to prevent a representative from being a party to the offence.

How it sits with safety statutes

CCOHS says s.217.1 does not override other federal, provincial or territorial safety statutes, and that charges can technically be laid under both the Criminal Code and a safety Act. See also stop-work orders and the director liability question.