Manitoba updates asbestos rules including worker certification, employer registration

The government says Manitoba is updating its rules governing the handling of asbestos to protect workers from dangerous exposure to the material, which is the leading cause of workplace-related deaths in the province.

“Strong, clear rules were needed to protect workers. Ultimately, this job is about prevention. It’s about making sure the people who repair and maintain our buildings can go home safe to their families,” Labor and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino told reporters at a press conference Thursday.

Under the new rules, workers handling asbestos will be required to be trained and certified. The province says employers using the material will have to register with the province, while building owners will have to take greater responsibility for ensuring workers are not put at risk.

Marcelino said the government is giving workers until June 2027 to pass an exam conducted by the Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba on safe handling of asbestos or take an exam to be trained and certified.

The minister said the cost of training could range from $150 to $950 per worker, based on an estimate BC’s model This requires workers to receive special training before they can abate asbestos in buildings.

Companies with employees handling asbestos will also have to be registered with the province by June 2027, otherwise they will not be authorized to work with the material.

Asbestos has been commonly used in roofing materials, insulation and other construction products in Canada for decades. it was not Completely banned in Canada As of 2018, however, its use was largely phased out around 1990.

During demolition and construction projects, microscopic asbestos fibers can be released and become trapped in people’s lungs. It is known to cause many health conditions, including cancer.

‘New rules will save lives’

According to Kevin Rebek, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labor (MFL), an average of about six Manitobans die each year from diseases such as mesothelioma cancer and lung lesions caused by asbestos exposure.

Although the risks related to asbestos exposure have long been known, Rebek says, Manitoba’s rules were tragic and inadequate regulations. was a general in the province Workplace Safety and Health Rules for asbestos, but training on how to handle the material was not standardized or mandated, and was ultimately left up to the employer.

Rebek says some companies trained workers well, but others ignored safety requirements, such as special equipment.

That’s because workers demolishing or renovating more older buildings will likely need to be exposed to asbestos in the near future, Rebek said.

Rebek says MFL is calling for stronger regulations for handling the material because without them, Manitoba could face a new wave of asbestos-related deaths.

“Asbestos safety is literally a matter of life and death for workers,” Rebek said. “These new rules will save lives.”

Regulations may also prevent asbestos exposure to building occupants.

Jeremy Carslon, president and training coordinator of Insulators Local 99 – the union representing heat and frost insulators in Manitoba – says friable asbestos, one form of the material, can be powdered by hand pressure and released into the air if not properly treated or sealed off.

“This will expose all the tenants in the building or the school children or whoever is in the building where this work is being done, which is very harmful to everyone’s health,” he said.

Carslon is happy to see stricter regulations coming because right now it’s difficult to know how many people are handling asbestos in Manitoba and who is following the rules.

“Sometimes people will put an ad on Kijiji and then (employees) will do the work without knowing it’s asbestos, because they don’t have the proper training.”

MFL said it is aware of several job postings offering people opportunities to perform asbestos removal over the summer.

Rebek says without regulations it would have been difficult to ensure workers had the skills and equipment to do the job safely.

“Having these rules in place will give health-and-safety officials the means to ensure … that employers are registered and people have received training,” he said.

Otherwise “this Act will now make it possible to issue stop-work orders, issue fines to employers if they are not following (the rules).”