Raison d’être
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1978 with a mandate to promote health and safety in the workplace and to enhance the physical and mental health of working Canadians.
CCOHS operates under the legislative authority of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act (S.C., 1977-78, c. 29) which was passed by unanimous vote in the Canadian Parliament. The purpose of this Act is to promote the fundamental right of Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment by creating a national institute (CCOHS) concerned with the study, encouragement and co-operative advancement of occupational health and safety.
CCOHS functions as an independent departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. Its funding is derived from a combination of appropriations, cost recoveries and collaboration with the provinces. It is expected that a portion of the budget will be funded through cost recoveries from the creation, production, and worldwide sales of fee-for-service and revenue generating occupational health and safety products and services.
Responsibilities
As Canada's national occupational health and safety resource, CCOHS is dedicated to the advancement of workplace health and safety. We do this by providing information and knowledge transfer services; training and education; cost-effective tools for improving occupational health and safety performance; management systems services supporting health and safety programs; injury and illness prevention initiatives and promoting the total well-being – physical, psychosocial and mental health - of working people.
CCOHS is a recognized leader in providing effective programs, products and services, which are based on the centre's core knowledge, collection of occupational health and safety information, and application of information management technologies.
CCOHS is governed by a tripartite council representing governments (federal, provincial and territorial), employers, and labour organizations. The Council of Governors assists in overseeing a policy framework for a trustworthy and complete occupational health and safety service, and ensures that the information CCOHS disseminates is unbiased. Our Council members are directly involved in the policy, governance and strategic planning for the organization. They also assist with reviews of programs and services to help ensure that our information is impartial and relevant. Our inquiries service is supported and partially funded from contributions provided by provincial and territorial governments.
CCOHS has a broad range of collaborative arrangements with many national and international health and safety organizations. These include the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (NAOSH), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and Health Canada. Further information on the many partnerships is available at www.ccohs.ca/ccohs/partner.html and in our annual report.
Collaborative projects serve many purposes at CCOHS. They are opportunities to enhance our occupational health and safety information resources, collaborate with partners worldwide to access and share global perspectives. This collaboration among nations serves to promote the sharing of information and knowledge for social and economic programs relating to health and safety, reduce injuries and illness, and improve conditions for workers. They also contribute to Canada's leadership role in the world and bring the wealth of global occupational health and safety information for use by CCOHS to improve the health and safety of working people in Canada.
Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture
Strategic Outcome: Improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well-being of working Canadians.
Program: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.
Internal Services
Organizational Priorities
Priority: Continuously improve the national profile of CCOHS
Description: Improving the national profile of CCOHS and increasing awareness of the available products and services increases general workplace health and safety.
Priority Type 1: Ongoing
Key Supporting Initiatives
- Hosting CCOHS Forum 2016 in Vancouver BC
- Multifaceted communications campaign using webcasts, podcasts, social media, newsletters and media to increase awareness of CCOHS and its products and services
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April 2013 |
To be determined |
P100-0001
Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration
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Priority: Improve cost recovery program
Description: CCOHS sells a portion of its products and services in order to recover some of the costs associated with developing and delivering occupational health and safety content to Canadians. An improved cost recovery program will enable the organization to reinvest those resources to develop new products and services, including free public services, ultimately leading to safer workplaces in Canada.
Priority Type 1: Previously committed to
Key Supporting Initiatives
- Develop new products and services
- Continue rationalization of existing products and services to free up resources
- Enhance marketability of current products and services
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April 2014 |
To be determined |
P100-0001
Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration
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Priority: Increase the number of Canadians impacted by CCOHS
Description: Broadening the reach of CCOHS to include more Canadian workplaces helps ensure that more Canadians benefit from best practices in workplace health and safety.
Priority Type 1: Ongoing
Key Supporting Initiatives
- Increase partnerships with health and safety organizations in each jurisdiction
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April 2013 |
To be determined |
P100-0001
Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration
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1Type is defined as follows: previously committed to—committed to in the first or second fiscal year prior to the subject year of the report; ongoing—committed to at least three fiscal years prior to the subject year of the report; and new—newly committed to in the reporting year of the Report on Plans and Priorities or the Departmental Performance Report.
Risk Analysis
Key Risks
- Operating deficit due to the reliance on funding from partners
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CCOHS keeps regular contact with all partners. CCOHS is increasing its focus on cost recoveries in order to continue to provide all of its services to Canadians. |
SO1 |
- Technology changes are impacting the way in which we must deliver our products
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CCOHS has discontinued the sale of CD based products and expanded its Internet-based products and information channels. We are developing apps to deliver our key services to mobile devices. |
SO1 |
Key Risks
CCOHS relies heavily on cost recovery programs and contributions from partners to supplement its parliamentary appropriations and cover fixed costs. The CCOHS funding model is based upon a target of 50% of our operating budget being generated through cost recovery. Therefore, our products and services must be continually updated to be marketable.
CCOHS also works very closely with various Government and non-profit partners. Changes to our partners’ funding can have a direct impact on our revenues and our ability to deliver our products and services to Canadians. CCOHS is proactively managing this risk by improving its cost recovery program.
Continuous improvement in technology continues to change the landscape for CCOHS. The Centre delivers the majority of its products and services to Canadians through electronic delivery and must stay up to date on new technology as traditional delivery methods for its content are unsustainable and out-dated. CCOHS has responded by expanding its on-line resources to include more specialized web portals, e-learning programs, webinars, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter promotion and on-line discussion groups. We continue to develop mobile apps to help workers assess hazards and risks. These new channels are key to supporting our priority to expand our reach and impact of Canadians on a daily basis. CCOHS is investing in the technology required to support these new communication channels and is challenged to do so with a limited operating budget.