Health & Safety (a) The Employer and the Union agree that they mutually desire to maintain standards of safety and health in the Home, in order to prevent injury and illness and abide by the Occupational Health and Safety Act as amended from time to time.
(b) A Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) shall be constituted in accordance with the Act, which shall identify potential dangers, recommend means of improving the health and safety programs and obtaining information from the Employer or other persons respecting the identification of hazards and standards. The committee shall meet at least every three months or more frequently if the committee decides. The Employer agrees to accept as a member of its Joint Health and Safety Committee at least one (1) ONA representative selected or appointed by the Union from the Employer. Scheduled time spent in such meetings is to be considered time worked for which representative(s) shall be paid by the Employer at his or her regular or overtime rate. Minutes shall be taken of all meetings and copies shall be sent to the Committee members within two (2) weeks following the meeting, if possible. Minutes of the meetings shall be posted on the workplace health and safety bulletin board.
(c) The Employer shall provide the time from work with pay and all related tuition costs and expenses necessary to certify the worker representative. Where an inspector makes an inspection of a workplace under the powers conferred upon him or her under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Employer shall afford a committee member representing workers the opportunity to accompany the inspector during his or her physical inspection of a workplace, or any part or parts thereof. Where a committee member is not available, the Employer shall afford a worker selected by a Union, because of knowledge, experience and training, to represent it, the opportunity to accompany the inspector during his or her physical inspection of a workplace, or any part or parts thereof.
(d) Two (2) representatives of the Joint Health and Safety Committee, one
(1) from management and one (1) from the employees, shall make monthly inspections of the work place and shall report to the health and safety committee the results of their inspection. The members of the Committee who represent the workers shall designate a member representing workers to inspect the workplace. Where possible that member shall be a certified member. The Employer shall provide the member with such information and assistance as the member may require for the purpose of carrying out an inspection of the workplace. Scheduled time spent in all such activities shall be considered as time worked.
(e) The Joint Health and Safety Committee and the representatives thereof shall have access to Incident/Accident Report Form required in S.51, S.52 and S.53 of the Act and the annual summary of data from the WSIB relating to the number of work accident fatalities, the number of lost workday cases, the number of lost workdays, the number of non-fatal cases that required medical aid without lost workdays, the incidence of occupational injuries, and such other data as the WSIB may decide to disclose. It is understood and agreed that no information will be provided to the Committee which is confidential. This information shall be a standing item recorded in the minutes of each meeting.
(f) The Union will use its best efforts to obtain the full co-operation of its membership in the compliance of all safety rules and practices.
(g) The Employer will use its best efforts to make all affected direct care employees aware of residents who have serious infectious diseases. The nature of the disease need not be disclosed. Employees will be made aware of special procedures required of them to deal with these circumstances. The parties agree that all employees are aware of the requirement to practice universal precautions in all circumstances.
(h) The parties further agree that suitable subjects for discussion at the Union-Management Committee and Joint Health and Safety Committee will include aggressive residents. The Employer will review with the Joint Health and Safety Committee written policies to address the management of violent behaviour. Such policies will include but not be limited to:
i) Designing safe procedures for employees,
ii) Providing training appropriate to these policies,
iii) Reporting all incidents of workplace violence.
(i) The Employer shall:
i) Inform employees of any situation relating to their work which may endanger their health and safety, as soon as it learns of the said situation,
ii) Inform employees regarding the risks relating to their work and provide training and supervision so that employees have the skills and knowledge necessary to safely perform the work assigned to them, When faced with occupational health and safety decisions, the Home will not await full scientific or absolute certainty before taking reasonable action(s) that reduces risk and protects employees.
iii) Ensure that the applicable measures and procedures prescribed in the Occupational Health and Safety Act are carried out in the workplace.
(j) A worker shall,
i) Work in compliance with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the regulations,
ii) Use or wear the equipment, protective devices or clothing that the worker's Employer requires to be used or worn,
iii) Report to his or her Employer or supervisor the absence of or defect in any equipment or protective device of which the worker is aware and which may endanger himself, herself or another worker, and
iv) Report to his or her Employer or supervisor any contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act or the regulations or the existence of any hazard of which he or she knows.
Environment, Health, and Safety (a) To the Knowledge of AIDEA and the Acquired Companies, except as disclosed in Disclosure Schedules 3.16(b), (d), and (e), the Acquired Companies have complied with all Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws. No action, suit, proceeding, hearing, investigation, charge, complaint, claim, demand, or notice has been filed or commenced against any of the Acquired Companies alleging any failure to so comply. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, the Acquired Companies, to the Knowledge of AIDEA and the Acquired Companies, have obtained and been in compliance with all of the terms and conditions of all permits, licenses, and other authorizations that are required under, and have complied with all other limitations, restrictions, conditions, standards, prohibitions, requirements, obligations, schedules, and timetables that are contained in, all Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws.
(b) Except as disclosed in Disclosure Schedule 3.16(b), neither the Acquired Companies nor AIDEA with respect to the Acquired Companies, to the Knowledge of AIDEA and the Acquired Companies, has any Liability arising out of events or circumstances occurring under any Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws for contamination of, damage to, or polluting any site, location, property, natural resources, the air, or any body of water (surface or subsurface), or for any illness of, or personal injury to, or death of, any employee or other individual related to the foregoing.
(c) To the Knowledge of AIDEA and the Acquired Companies, all equipment and personal property owned, leased, or used in the Operations are and have been free of hydrocarbon contamination, asbestos, PCBs, dioxins, and any other hazardous, toxic, radioactive, or dangerous substances, except for the liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas the Acquired Companies produce, store, and handle, and except for the fuel, lubricants, refrigerants, and solvents that are used in the ordinary course of business in conducting the Operations. The liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas of the Acquired Companies, and the fuel, lubricants, refrigerants, and solvents used in its Operations, have all been stored, handled, transported, used, and disposed of in accordance with all Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws and consistent with all standard industry practices.
(d) Except as disclosed on Disclosure Schedule 3.16(d), all real property the Acquired Companies owns is, to the Knowledge of AIDEA and the Acquired Companies, free from contamination by any substance regulated under, or defined as or considered “hazardous” or “toxic” or “radioactive” or “contamination” or “pollution” under, any Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws, including but not limited to hydrocarbons, asbestos, PCBs, and dioxins. AIDEA has provided IGU with true and complete copies of all environmental assessments, studies, and reports (1) of which AIDEA and the Acquired Companies have Knowledge and (2) that reference the real property any of the Acquired Companies owns, leases, or uses. Although neither AIDEA nor the Acquired Companies has conducted any environmental assessments regarding the leased real property used by the Acquired Companies, neither AIDEA nor the Acquired Companies has Knowledge of any environmental contamination on or under the portions of any leased or used real property where any of the Operations have been conducted.
(e) Except as disclosed on Disclosure Schedule 3.16(e), neither the Acquired Companies nor AIDEA has Knowledge of any leak, spill, release, discharge, or disposal of any substance regulated under, or defined as or considered “hazardous” or “toxic” or “radioactive” or “contamination” or “pollution” under any Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws that has occurred on, in, or under the real property any of the Acquired Companies owns, leases, or uses, or has ever owned, leased, or used, in conducting the Operations, that was reportable or should have been reported to any government or governmental agency, or that was or could have been subject to clean up or remediation, under any Environmental, Health, and Safety Laws.
(f) Except as disclosed on Disclosure Schedule 3.16(f), to the Knowledge of AIDEA and the Acquired Companies, there is no underground storage tank present on any real property any of the Acquired Companies owns, leases, or uses or has owned, leased or used, in conducting the Operations.
