The Academy For First Aid and Safety Toronto

WSIB compliant first aid, CPR, and AED training in Toronto, Scarborough, Hamilton, Barrie, Mississauga, and Brampton. Certified training partner with the Canadian Red Cross Society.

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First aid requirements for Security Guards in Ontario

comprehensive first aid and CPR courses

The Ministry of Private Security of Ontario says this, but the Ontario WSIB says something different:

If you are a security guard in the Province of Ontario, or are in the middle of obtaining one at an authorized training provider by the Ministry of Private Security & Investigative Services Branch, the laws and requirements for valid first aid & CPR are a bit confusing.  Case in point, the PSISB which governs the secuirty guard and investigativer services industry in Ontario is saying one thing, but the Ontario WSIB on the other hand is saying something different:

Security guard basic training courses must be at least 40 hours long, including certification in Emergency First Aid/CPR.

Ministry of Private Security and Investigative Services Branch of Ontario

However, Regulation 1101 from the Workplace Safety Insurance Act of Ontario makes things more complicated and confusing.  They specify the following:

9. (1) Every employer employing more than five workers and not more than fifteen workers in any one shift at a place of employment shall provide and maintain a first aid station with a first aid box containing as a minimum:

 

(a) is the holder of a valid St. John Ambulance Standard First Aid Certificate or its equivalent; and

(b) works in the immediate vicinity of the box. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101, s. 9 (2).

 

R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101: First aid requirements, Workplace Safety Insurance Act Ontario

So, the Private Security and Investigative Services Branch is saying that you need Emergency first aid & CPR, but the Ontario WSIB says you need Standard first aid & CPR.  Confusing?  Let’s clarify some things here:

  1. Emergency first aid & CPR is required by the Ontario PSISB for LICENSING PURPOSES ONLY, not for employment purposes.  This is the minimum requirement in order to become licensed as a security guard in the Province of Ontario.
  2. Considering that you are licensed as a security guard and are on the job, as long as your job site location is between 1-5 people per shift and location (not in total), your emergency first aid & CPR will satisfy Regulation 1101.

Now here is where the confusion begins: As soon as your team on your shift and location exceeds 5 persons, your emergency first aid & CPR will no longer satisfy Regulation 1101, because the Act states that any shift more than five workers must need Standard first aid & CPR.  This is a serious note to acknowledge, especially in the event of a workplace accident.  Not only is the employee and employer not in compliance with Regulation 1101, the consequences for not being in compliance can result in:

  1. Fines issued to the employee and employer for not being in compliance with Regulation 1101.
  2. WORKPLACE INJURY CLAIMS DENIED BY WSIB: This part is the scariest part of not being in compliance with Regulation 1101 for both the employee and employer.  In the event of a workplace injury, both employee and employer face the same responsibility for not being in compliance.  If a WSIB claim is denied due to insufficent first aid certification, the legal claims arising between the employee and employer can get very messy and ugly.  To pretty much sum up what will happen if an employee took an employer to court for a workplace injury claim, both sides will be pointing the finger at each other.

1-5 persons per shift and location: Emergency first aid is sufficient. 

6-15 persons per shift and location: Standard first aid and CPR is required.

Example 1: You are working as a security guard at a construction site overnight.  Your certification level needed is Emergency first aid.

Example 2: You work as a site supervisor at a condominium.  There are 9 employees total working at the same location, but only 3 per shift (days,afternoon, nights).  Regulation 1101 specifies what certification level you need based on workforce size, shift, and location.  So even though the total workforce size is 9 employees, there are 3 per shift, so Emergency first aid is sufficient in this case.

Example 3: You work as a security guard at a shopping mall with a team of 8 per shift, 40 security guards total per day.  Regulation 1101 states that anything over 5 employees per shift at the location now required Standard first aid & CPR.  Meaning, your emergency first aid you received during your licensing process is insufficient for employment purposes. 

comprehensive first aid and CPR courses

In conclusion:

Ontario Regulation 1101 may cause some confusion for the security guard industry, and it is absolutely crucial for all security guard companies and employees in Ontario to be aware of contradiction information that is being given by the Ontario Private Security and Investigative Services Act and The Workplace Safety Insurance Act of Ontario.  

6 thoughts on “First aid requirements for Security Guards in Ontario

  1. If my company does not want to pay for my training, what can I do? I have no first aid certificate and my company says I don’t need it.

    1. Your company can be held liable for not being in compliance with Regulation 1101. I highly suggest you proceed to obtain necessary certification in order to be in compliance as an employee. You may have to contact the Ministry of Labour to report their unwillingness to comply. In the event of a work place accident, it is possible for WSIB to initially deny a claim due to non-compliance of 1101, depending on the circumstances.

  2. How are you the Canadian Red Cross? I though you are The Academy For First Aid and Safety?

    1. We are an authorized independent training partner with the Canadian Red Cross. We have the certification to provide the first aid courses by the Red Cross as an independent partner.

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