Section 34 of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act

Section 34 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA S.34), governed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, was designed to protect the health and safety of workers from potential harm of agents considered “new” to Ontario workplaces. Similar to the federal New Substances Notification Regulations (NSNR), OHSA S.34 stipulated the need for notification prior to workplace introduction of new agents by manufacturers, importers, distributors and suppliers.

After the introduction of the NSNR in 1994, this requirement became redundant in the eyes of industry in Ontario. The Government of Ontario finally repealed this requirement in December 2019 to reduce the burden to manufacturers, importers, distributors and suppliers.