Background
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is a Canadian federal government agency based in Hamilton, Ontario, which serves to support the vision of eliminating all Canadian work-related illnesses and injuries.

Established in 1978, CCOHS is a federal departmental corporation reporting to the Parliament of Canada through the federal Minister of Labour. The Centre is governed by a Council representing three key stakeholder groups: government (federal, provincial and territorial), employers, and workers - a structure that mandates the CCOHS’ impartial approach to information dissemination.

Mission
It is our mission to be the Canadian Centre of Excellence for work-related injury and illness prevention initiatives and occupational health and safety information,

To promote health and safety in the workplace in Canada to:

• Facilitate
  
  • Consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions
    
  • Participation by labour and management
    
    
• Assist in the development and maintenance of policies and programs
  
  
• Serve as a national centre for information relating to occupational health and safety
  
  

Role of CCOHS
On the home front, CCOHS provides Canadians with unbiased, relevant information and advice that supports responsible decision-making and promotes safe and healthy working environments. CCOHS makes a vast scope of occupational health and safety information readily available, in clear language that is appropriate for all users, from the general public to the health and safety professional. Internationally, the Centre is renowned as an innovative, authoritative occupational health and safety resource. CCOHS partners and collaborates with agencies and organizations from Canada and around the world to improve the quality and quantity of resources and programs, as well as expand the breadth of usage of OSH information to many different segments of society.

What we Offer
CCOHS fulfills its mandate to promote workplace health and safety, and encourage attitudes and methods that will lead to improved worker physical and mental health, through a wide range of products and services. These products and services are designed in cooperation with national and international occupational health and safety organizations with an emphasis on preventing illnesses, injuries and fatalities. We provide a variety of both public service initiatives at no charge to the user, such as OSH Answers, the person-to-person Inquiry Service, the electronic newsletter, and public presentations. Services for specialty resources provided on a cost recovery basis include database subscriptions, manuals and training programs.

To keep pace with the ever-changing needs of our users, we offer many of our products in both English and French as well as in various formats (print, CD ROM, DVD, Internet).

We addressed the need to reduce the consistently high level of injuries and illnesses incurred by new and young Canadian workers, with the development of the Youth Zone on our website. The site contains practical information and resources specific to young workers, their employers and parents, to prepare them to assume their roles for health and safety at work. We also collaborated with youth delegates from all parts of Canada, The Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC), and the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation’s Occupational Health and Safety (CAALL-OSH) committee to build the Job-One site, dedicated to workers new to the job force. All of these efforts were made to spread the word about youth health and safety with the goal of preventing work injuries in the highest worker risk group - our young people.

Spread the Word
Information and knowledge are powerful tools to support prevention initiatives. It is with a passion for and commitment to worker health and safety that CCOHS equips working Canadians with the information needed to reduce hazards and eliminate risks in the workplace, that all may enjoy a healthy and safe environment!

S. Len Hong
President and Chief Executive Officer
CCOHS