Service-Wide Committee on Occupational Health and Safety

The role of the Service-Wide Committee on Occupational Health and Safety (SWOHS) is to participate in the development and review of all Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat policies, programs and issues relating to occupational health and safety. The SWOHS Committee provides advice and leadership to the departmental or agency policy committees.

SWOHS Communiqués

Committee Advisor: Eden Bédard

Quarterly Report to the National Joint Council (June 2025)

Regular Activities:

• The Committee has met twice (2) since the last Council meeting.
• Representatives from the Privacy and Data Protection Division of the Office of the Chief Information Officer attended a meeting to explain the impacts of Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests, and the importance of privacy in workplace harassment and violence occurrences. The Committee was asked to provide feedback on a Privacy Implementation Notice to ATIP officers.
• Representatives from the Labour Program attended a meeting to provide the Committee with an overview of a day-in-the-life of a Field Inspector. The Committee agreed to add updates from the Labour Program as a standing agenda item.
• The Committee issued a letter to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policy co-chairs supporting recommendations made by the Joint Committee on Mental Health Support Mechanisms.
• The Committee is updating the contact list for OHS policy committee co-chairs to ensure SWOHS-related information is disseminated appropriately within the OHS community. 
• The Committee published their annual communiqué regarding Legionella, which serves as a reminder for the need to have a plan to control Legionella in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to ensure workers’ safety;
• The Committee continues to monitor concerns surrounding the issues of respiratory infections, harassment and violence, mental health, among other hazards.
• SWOHS sub-committees continue to actively work on developing resources and materials which will assist departments, agencies, and Policy Committees:
  1. Harassment and Violence Prevention (HVP) Tools Working Group – the sub-committee has met once (1) since the last Council meeting. The sub-committee published guides to assist employees and managers in navigating the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations. It continues to work on a new workplace risk assessment tool to provide examples of occurrences in the workplace and recommendations on how to prevent and respond to said occurrences. The sub-committee has also been tasked with updating the SWOSH Frequently Asked Questions communiqué; 
  2. Sub-committee on Climate Change – the sub-committee has not met since the last Council meeting.

Outstanding Items: 

• The Committee continues to monitor the progress on implementation of the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations.

Next Meeting: November 20, 2025 

Employer Side	Bargaining Agent Side
Co-Chair Charles Vézina Acting Executive Director Labour Relations Operations Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)	Co-Chair Milton Dyck National President Agriculture Union Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)
Marc Gosselin Senior Program/Policy Analyst Employment Conditions and Labour Relations Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)	Jamey Mills Regional Vice-President British Columbia Region Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)
Jesse Arnup-Blondin Acting Director General Specialized Health Services Directorate Health Canada (HC)	Yves Fournier President Federal Government Dockyard Trades & Labour Council East (FGDTLC-East)
Chantal Seeton Executive Director Workplace Health & Diversity Directorate Human Resources Branch Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)	Bernard Holbrook President Research Council Employees’ Association (RCEA)
Howah Lee Senior Director Environment, Health and Safety Directorate Public Services and Procurement Canada	Andrea Peart National Health and Safety Officer Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)
Aline Taillefer-McLaren Director Labour Relations Programs Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)	Dejan Toncic Employment Relations Officer Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)
	Dominique Vidmar Labour Relations Officer Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE)