The Workplace Safety and Health Regulation, amendment M.R. 108/2025 introduces changes to the existing Workplace Safety and Health Regulation, Manitoba Regulation 217/2006, specifically addressing asbestos management in workplaces. The regulation updates definitions, revises procedural requirements, and establishes detailed obligations for employers and owners to ensure the safety of workers exposed to asbestos-containing materials. A key amendment involves redefining “asbestos-containing material” to include any material with 0.1% or more asbestos and vermiculite insulation containing asbestos. This expanded definition intends to broaden coverage of potentially hazardous materials and strengthens protection against exposure.

The regulation replaces Part 37 of the prior legislation with a detailed framework for asbestos management. Part 37 provides clear definitions, including those for asbestos abatement work, asbestos inventory work, asbestos certificates, asbestos work, and approved training providers. It specifies that asbestos abatement work involves procedures to encapsulate, enclose, or remove asbestos-containing material, including demolition activities, while asbestos inventory work pertains to sampling and developing an inventory of asbestos-containing materials. An asbestos certificate, issued by the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), authorizes a person to carry out asbestos work, while approved training providers are organizations authorized by WCB to deliver training programs that meet established standards.

The regulation applies to all workplaces where asbestos is present, and any material likely to contain asbestos is deemed asbestos-containing until a qualified person determines otherwise. The regulation emphasizes that its provisions do not limit other chemical and biological safety regulations under Part 36. Employers and owners are required to prepare and maintain a current inventory of all asbestos-containing materials, identifying their locations and conditions. Materials in poor repair must be immediately repaired or abated, or controlled if immediate action is not possible, with measures recorded in an asbestos control plan.

Employers must implement an asbestos control plan designed to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the workplace air and protect worker safety in case of airborne exposure. Workers performing or potentially exposed to asbestos work must receive information, instruction, and training regarding asbestos hazards, identification, use of personal protective equipment, medical examination and health surveillance, and certification requirements. All asbestos work must be performed by certified individuals who carry their certificates at all* times, and training must align with WCB standards for inventory or abatement work. WCB maintains a registry of approved training providers and the regulation clarifies that no substitutions or amendments to established standards are valid unless explicitly adopted by the regulation.

Manitoba (108/2025) December 9, 2025
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