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Where We’ve Been

In early 1999, the Commission began consultations with its stakeholders using the draft strategic plan. HMIRC’s goal was to create a strategic plan with the input and support of all stakeholders. The objective of the strategic plan would be the formation of a shared vision that would guide the revitalization of the Commission.

The consultation process provided HMIRC with the opportunity to solicit comments on initiatives in support of the Commission’s on-going modernization of its service delivery, regulatory and adjudicative functions.

Three main consultations were undertaken over the winter months with stakeholder groups: labour interests represented by the Canadian Labour Congress’ National Occupational Safety and Health Workshop; federal, provincial, territorial governments through the Intergovernmental WHMIS Coordinating Committee; and industry through a full day meeting with HMIRC claimants.

In June, Council unanimously approved the Commission Renewal: Blueprint for Change, which now incorporated the stakeholders’ comments. The Blueprint was presented to the Minister of Health, who in turn provided his endorsement in October.

The Blueprint contains action plans under a new three business line structure which will guide the direction of the Commission during the next few years. HMIRC published this document in November, and mailed copies to all stakeholders and interested parties.

The next critical step in the strategic planning process was the creation of an operational workplan to achieve the Blueprint’s strategic initiatives. The Workplan contains the detailed actions that must be undertaken to complete the renewal of the Commission. The Council of Governors approved the Workplan in January 2000 and many of the projects are well underway.

Milestones

The Commission has been very busy throughout the past year. Staff have been double tasked with renewal initiatives while still maintaining day-to-day operations. The following are some of the major milestones that the Commission accomplished during the past fiscal year:

• An MSDS Compliance pilot project was implemented offering claimants and affected parties the opportunity to review and comment on the health and safety information and advice provided to the screening officer. This initiative has significantly enhanced the transparency of the MSDS review and decision making processes and has been well received by claimants.
• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by HMIRC and the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Department of Justice in December approving funding in the amount of $30,000 under the Dispute Resolution Fund. This funding was critical to allowing the Commission to begin developing a Dispute Resolution system that will fulfil our commitment to stakeholders to expedite the resolution of disputes.
• A policy development process entitled: Policy Making at HMIRC was approved by Council in January. In the past, the Commission did not have a documented policy development process for issues affecting the application and interpretation of its legislation. This paper speaks to the values and principles of our renewal and enhances the transparency of the Commission’s policy-making. HMIRC’s policies will be available to all interested parties via its Web site.
• The Commission’s first Web site was launched in March.
• In designing our site, we voluntarily adopted the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Common Look and Feel draft guidelines. These guidelines provide departments with standards for a common look to government Web sites, and have since been finalized. We are proud to report that the Commission finds itself in compliance with these new guidelines.
• The Commission also voluntarily participated in a Treasury Board Secretariat pilot project on Web site accessibility, which provides web masters a view of their sites as perceived in a typical situation by persons with disabilities. Our site did very well as a result of the testing with only minor changes to be implemented in the Phase II design of the Web site.
• The Commission approached the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to request that they review our Web site to see whether it met the requirements of the Official Languages Act. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages report confirmed that our site reflected the equality of status of English and French. With the intent to exceed the linguistic requirements, the Commission has also requested that the review provide additional suggestions. All of the suggestions will be implemented during Phase II design of the Web site.
• A major modernization of our method of recording, registering, tracking and managing claims was completed with the aid of new technology and software making it a more systematic and expeditious system. We have also updated all claim related publications, such as the information bulletins and the Guide for Completing a Claim for Exemption. These documents assist clients in filing a claim for exemption and are available on our Web site.
• A complete redesign of the workflow procedures for reviewing and issuing decisions on MSDS compliance was undertaken. This resulted in a more efficient, responsive and effective procedure for reviewing MSDS content.
• A partnership was established with Health Canada in implementing the government-wide Financial Information Strategy of a SAP-based financial management platform. This will provide appropriate standardized interfaces to the Office of the Receiver General and will provide the Commission with the ability to generate accrual accounting-based balance sheets and reports in upcoming years.
• An agreement was entered into between HMIRC and the Department of Justice to provide on-site legal services. The "Multi-Client Legal Services Unit" was established with HMIRC as its first client. The Commission provides space and support and the Department of Justice provides shared services on a cost recovery basis to other small agencies/government initiatives, which like the Commission, do not require full-time legal counsel.
• This past year we saw a more than 100% increase in claims received—for a total of 394 claims. We believe this is, at least in part, attributable to a renewed confidence in the Commission by our industry stakeholders.

Claims received since 1995–1996