Several Quebec regulations related to occupational health and safety, including the Hazardous Products Information Regulation, the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety, the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety in mines, and the Regulation respecting safety and health in foundry works have been recently amended. These amendments are made under various provisions of section 223 of the Act respecting occupational health and safety, which empowers the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) to establish regulations on a broad range of workplace health and safety issues. These include identifying and controlling hazardous substances, setting environmental quality standards in the workplace, prescribing safety measures and protective equipment, and establishing procedures for the classification and handling of hazardous products. The new regulation reflects updated knowledge and international standards and aims to strengthen protections for workers in a variety of industrial settings.

One change affects section 48 of the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety, which replaces the outdated standard “CAN/CSA-Z180.1-00” with the more recent “CSA-Z180.1” standard, thereby modernizing requirements related to compressed breathing air systems. Section 70 of the same regulation is revised to update the hazard class equivalencies between the older Controlled Products Regulations (SOR/88-66) and the current Hazardous Products Regulations (SOR/2015-17). This change provides clearer and more accurate correspondence between categories like compressed gases, flammable materials, oxidizers, toxic substances, and corrosives, improving the clarity and enforcement of hazard communication standards.

Another adjustment to section 302 of the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety lowers the minimum acceptable oxygen concentration in workplace air from 20.5% to 19.5%, harmonizing with established occupational health thresholds and scientific consensus. Furthermore, section 3 of the Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety, which had previously been established by Order in Council 821-2023, is amended to specify that the new requirements under section 312.103 will take effect on June 8, 2026.

In the mining sector, section 2 of the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety in mines is amended by removing the reference to section 12.1 in its final paragraph, and section 12.1 itself is repealed entirely. Additionally, section 489 is amended by removing “asbestos” from its list, reflecting a shift in the regulatory handling of asbestos-related hazards. Parallel changes are made to the Regulation respecting safety and health in foundry works, where section 140 is revised to strike out the mention of “asbestos.”

Quebec (647/2025) May 21, 2025
Disclaimer: Insights are for informational purposes only and do not reflect RRI’s official position or constitute legal opinion.