New first aid requirements coming this year from WorkSafe BC

A backgrounder published by WorkSafeBC outlines changes to employers’ responsibilities for providing first aid and emergency assistance that will come into effect Nov. 1, 2024. The changes will occur as part of amendments to B.C.’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation Schedule 3-A passed in April 2023. There are two key changes, according to the document:

Employers will be required to provide first aid kits and training in accordance with CSA Z1210-17 and CSA Z1220-17 standards.

Employers will need to prepare a written risk assessment with a plan to be able to provide timely first aid. Key to this change is the need to consider whether the workplace is “remote” or whether there are conditions that could interfere with aid arriving, including work at heights, confined spaces, the presence of electrical hazards or risks of entrapment.

The backgrounder promises a draft guideline release for public comment in “early spring” 2024.