Online WHMIS Certificate in Quebec

Quebec WHMIS Training and Certification

In Canada, WHMIS is our national program for implementing the federal Hazardous Products Act and the Controlled Products Regulations. All businesses where hazardous products are present need to be compliant with the WHMIS 2015 system currently in place. This means that any workplace where employees are working with products with hazardous chemicals for production or cleaning, or simply for handling and storing, needs to provide WHMIS training to all employees.

WHMIS, also referred to as SIMDUT in QC, is based on the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Canada is one of many countries that adopted the GHS and implemented their standards, creating a highly specific network of common communication surrounding these products and their hazards. This uniformity in communication increases the chances of safe conduct in the workplace and safety for the general public should any emergencies arise.

This means that WHMIS symbols, classifications of hazards, and labeling for hazardous products are exactly the same for the province of Quebec as they are in all of the other provinces or territories in Canada.

To enforce the Hazardous Products Act, Health Canada made an agreement with the government of Quebec that hands down the implementation of the federal legislation. This was in order to streamline the process of enforcing the laws and so workplaces do not have to answer to more than one investigating agency, the federal laws are handed down strategically to be implemented and enforced by provincial bodies. In Quebec, the provincial legislation that covers this is found in the Health Act and Safety (Article 62) and the Regulation on information on controlled products.

And in 2016, the provincial agencies that handle WHMIS merged from the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) and the Commission de l'équité salariale (CÉS), into a new agency called the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST). The government of Quebec, through the CNESST, fosters safety and health in the workplace and ensures that WHMIS training is provided.

Employers who provide WHMIS programs should contact CNESST to see if there is an existing local strategic partner who is affiliated with CNESST that they can coordinate their WHMIS training with. If there is one, they will be able to help guide you through the process of implementing a WHMIS training program at your workplace that will meet provincial requirements.

As an employer in QC, do I need to educate and train my employees on WHMIS?

Yes, according to legislation, it is the responsibility of employers to provide WHMIS training to employees. Anyone working with or anyone who may come into contact with any types of hazardous materials is required to have received WHMIS training. This means even workers who do not work directly with hazardous materials, but where they are stored in the workplace as cleaning supplies, require general education on WHMIS.

Employers who are investigated by CNESST will need to be able to provide proof that they have a WHMIS program active in their workplace. This includes a wide range of WHMIS topics that can sometimes be called General WHMIS and covers:

  • maintaining a database of available Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) on the variety of hazardous products
  • ensuring products in your workplace are labeled, at all times, with current WHMIS compliant labels
  • implementing a regularly evaluated training system on WHMIS so that your employees can demonstrate they have been educated on the proper handling, storing, and use of hazardous materials.

WHMIS training for employees needs to also provide job-specific information if the employees’ duties demand they handle specific chemicals. Employees must also receive personal protective equipment and education on safety procedures and protocols specific to their day-to-day job requirements. They must be trained on and know how to use their job equipment safely.

General employees must also be able to demonstrate proper understanding of classifications of chemicals, awareness of how to identify their product labels warnings and pictographs, and knowledge of where the SDSs are located in their workplace.

As an employer, you are also responsible for any products brought through or into the workplace. Their labels must always be as up to date as possible for the current WHMIS system in place. If labels have not been affixed or have become damaged or unreadable in any way, it is the employer’s responsibility to re-label them accordingly.

To implement an approved WHMIS compliant program, many employers choose to designate a WHMIS representative at their company so that there is one point person who takes on the responsibility of overseeing the WHMIS information in the workplace. This person can be one who is already acting as a safety officer or can be a member of your Human Resources department to keep responsibilities in line with existing related job expectations.

Also, many employers choose to utilize a qualified training company as their WHMIS education provider. There is no standard for government-approved training organizations; any WHMIS training organization with a good reputation and ability to provide complete and up to date training on general WHMIS can perform the task. When looking for a Quebec WHMIS training provider, consider the type of training you are looking for, as well as the delivery method and the evaluation procedures. WHMIS training providers should be able to issue a WHMIS certificate to individuals upon completion.

It is very important to choose a quality company as a training provider. They need to have a good reputation in the field, high-quality interactive courses, and their certificates should be widely recognized. When looking for Quebec WHMIS training online, be sure to consider some of the other features the company offers, such as allowing you to take the exam in sections, as you complete each part of the course. In addition, be sure to check out their policies if you happen to fail the exam the first time.

Do I need to have a WHMIS Certificate for my employees?

WHMIS certificates are not required by any federal or provincial law. But the law states that employers must be able to prove that they have a WHMIS program and that employees have received WHMIS training that is kept current.

If a representative from CNESST visits the workplace on an inspection, they can request proof of your WHMIS program and one of the best and easiest ways to be able to show proof is to have employees carry a WHMIS certificate that they have achieved after taking WHMIS training from a credible WHMIS education provider.

How frequently do I need to train my workers on WHMIS in QC?

There are no specific legal requirements on frequency of training, only that it must be up to date. Many employers choose to provide annual training and evaluation of WHMIS knowledge to ensure that their employees are up to date. A certificate of WHMIS training will include a training date, and if that date is within one year, it is usually considered up to date unless there have been WHMIS updates released within that year.

Information on WHMIS (or SIMDUT) is available on the government website at, http://www.csst.qc.ca/Pages/index.aspx.