The difference
OHSA sets your legal duties as an employer in Ontario. COR confirms, through an audit, that you run a documented health and safety management system. One is mandatory for everyone. The other is optional, but many public buyers require it before you can bid.
OHSA
The law. Applies to every employer.
- The Occupational Health and Safety Act sets out the rights and duties of employers, supervisors and workers in Ontario
- Enforced by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
- Applies whether or not you hold any certification
- Non-compliance carries orders, prosecution and fines
COR
Voluntary. Required by many buyers.
- A certification standard, granted in Ontario only by IHSA
- Verifies through internal and external audits that a health and safety management system is in use
- Not required by law, but required by many public and institutional buyers as a condition of bidding
- Lost by letting the documentation lapse, not by breaking the law
Why it matters
You can comply fully with the Act and still be unable to bid a City of Toronto project, because the buyer screens on certification, not on legal compliance alone. That is why COR is a business problem for contractors, not just a safety topic.
It also works the other way. COR is not a defence against an OHSA charge, and nothing we produce changes your legal duties under the Act. Those stay yours.
The two meet in Element 13 of the COR 2020 audit, Legislation and Other Requirements. The audit expects you to show that you know which legal requirements apply to your work and that you keep current with them.
Reading the Act
The Act is published and kept current by the Government of Ontario. Read it at the source, not from a copy on a consultant's website, including ours. The Act is amended over time and only ontario.ca is guaranteed to be current.
Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1. Opens on ontario.ca.
This page is general information about how two frameworks relate. It is not legal advice and it is not a summary of your obligations under the Act. For advice on your legal duties, speak to a lawyer or to the Ministry.