Ontario labour federation urges more worker protections as air quality concerns grow

A cruise ship sits off the shore of Toronto amid air quality warnings on Monday July 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

An Ontario labour group says it is advocating for more robust worker protections amid growing health concerns over poor air quality as wildfire smoke blankets the province with increasing frequency.

The Ontario Federation of Labour, which represents more than 55 unions across the province, says the push is part of a broader heat stress strategy looking at how climate change is impacting working conditions.

Its president Laura Walton said provincial regulations outline winter temperature benchmarks to protect workers from the cold, but there are no such protections from the heat or poor air quality. The federation is working with the provincial New Democrats to introduce a motion in the legislature this fall advocating for better worker protections amid increasing extreme weather events, she said.

As part of that campaign, Walton said the federation aims to provide first-hand insight into summer working conditions.

Over the next six weeks, it will place instruments in workplaces across the province to collect heat and humidity readings. The federation will also survey workers about their environments, including asking them about air quality advisories issued for the area.

“When we go to (the legislature) in November and people are like, ‘Well, I don’t know what the big deal is because it’s freezing rain right now,’ we actually have data to capture what was happening this summer,” she said.

Environment Canada has issued numerous air quality warnings or statements in Ontario this summer due to wildfire smoke that drifts across provinces, with conditions often worsening in a matter of hours.

Proper education about safe workplace environments is important so that workers know to ask for things such as air purifiers and proper ventilation systems to protect themselves from wildfire smoke, Walton said.

Michael Lynk, professor emeritus of law at Western University and a former labour lawyer, said the more frequent air quality warnings should require unions to be more “aggressive” in asserting workplace rights in the coming years.

Unions are already starting to negotiate even stronger health and safety provisions through collective bargaining, which can include the right to shut down a workplace due to unsafe conditions, Lynk said.

He added that joint health and safety committees, required in every Ontario workplace with 20 or more employees, can also be an important tool in advocating for specific safety provisions.

Currently, he said workers have the right to refuse work if they feel unsafe in extreme heat or smoke, which can send a powerful message to employers to re-examine working conditions.

“Just the threat of possibility of (refusing work), which is lawful under health and safety law, is usually enough to encourage or nudge employers to take union concerns seriously,” Lynk said.

A number of large employers in the province are increasingly considering the impact of heat and poor air quality on their workforce. The City of Toronto, for example, has a heat stress policy that includes provisions such as rescheduling work to cooler times of the day, if possible, and providing cool spaces for staff. The city also has an indoor air quality policy for office environments.

With extreme heat and air quality advisories expected to continue in the future, Lynk said he expects unions to be firmer in what they negotiate, as well as workers to be quicker to trigger their right to refuse work amid unsafe conditions.

“They’re going to be more diligent and more assertive in compelling workers to pay attention to this,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.

Natasha Baldin, The Canadian Press