Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, known as WHMIS, is Canada's national hazard-communication standard for hazardous chemicals and products used in workplaces. It sets out how information about those hazards must reach the people who handle the products. The Health Canada roles and responsibilities page describes its key elements as hazard classification, cautionary container labelling and the provision of safety data sheets (SDSs).

WHMIS is implemented through federal, provincial and territorial legislation, and it assigns responsibilities to suppliers, employers and workers. The current version, commonly called WHMIS 2015, aligns Canada's system with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). For companies that sell or import chemical products, WHMIS defines what must be on the label and in the SDS before a product reaches a Canadian workplace.

The three elements: classification, labels and safety data sheets

WHMIS rests on three connected tools. Classification identifies whether a product is hazardous and what kind of hazard it presents. Container labels give cautionary information at the point of use. Safety data sheets provide the detailed hazard information that accompanies the product.

The Health Canada FAQ on the Hazardous Products Regulations explains that suppliers of hazardous products intended for workplace use must classify those products and communicate the hazards through product labels and SDSs.

WHMIS 2015 and alignment with the GHS

WHMIS 2015 brought Canada's workplace hazard-communication system into line with the GHS. The Government of Canada's Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety update on WHMIS 2015 courses confirms this alignment. For suppliers, this means classification, labels and SDSs follow an internationally harmonized approach rather than a purely domestic one.

Supplier duties under the Hazardous Products Act

At the federal level, the Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products Regulations establish the requirements for suppliers. According to Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian suppliers, including importers and distributors, must provide supplier labels and SDSs for hazardous products sold or imported for use in Canadian workplaces.

A supplier is a person who, in the course of business, sells or imports hazardous products. In practice, a supplier must:

• identify whether its products are hazardous;
• classify those products;
• prepare compliant labels and SDSs;
• provide the labels and SDSs to purchasers of hazardous products intended for workplace use.

Employer duties for workplace use

Employers have their own obligations once a hazardous product is in the workplace. Under WHMIS, an employer must:

• educate and train workers;
• ensure hazardous products are properly labelled;
• make SDSs available as required;
• ensure suitable control measures are in place.

These duties are set out on the Health Canada roles and responsibilities page. Supplier documents feed directly into these duties, because the label and SDS a supplier provides are what an employer relies on to label, train and control.

What WHMIS means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

WHMIS becomes relevant when a contract involves supplying or importing hazardous products intended for workplace use. In that case the supplier is responsible for providing compliant labels and SDSs and for maintaining hazard information as the applicable legislation requires. The purchasing organization, acting as the workplace employer or user, has corresponding obligations for labels, SDS access, worker training and safe use.

Bid teams should confirm early whether any product in the offer is a hazardous product, and whether classification, labels and SDSs are already in place. Having these documents ready lets a supplier answer buyer questions on hazard communication and deliver products that the receiving organization can put to use in its workplaces.