WHMIS Training for British Columbia Workplaces

B.C. splits WHMIS into a program, education and training, each with its own section in Part 5:

• Section 5.5, WHMIS program. If hazardous products are used, the employer, in consultation with the joint committee or health and safety representative, must keep an effective WHMIS program as part of the overall health and safety program. It must be reviewed at least annually, or more often if work conditions or hazard information change, and it must include periodic evaluation of workers’ knowledge, for example by written tests and practical demonstrations.
• Section 5.6, worker education. General WHMIS education on the elements of the WHMIS program, the major hazards of the products in use, the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers, and what labels and SDSs contain and why it matters.
• Section 5.7, worker training. Training on supplier and workplace labels and SDSs, plus procedures for safe use, storage, handling and disposal, products in pipes and vessels, fugitive emissions and emergencies. Under 5.7 (2) this instruction must be specific to the workplace and cover its own safe work and emergency procedures.

WorkSafeBC’s own WHMIS page says employers can deliver this training themselves if it meets sections 5.6 and 5.7, or have workers trained by an external provider, and that WorkSafeBC does not offer WHMIS training or certification or endorse one provider over another.

The online course gives every worker the same solid base and a certificate for your records. The site-specific items can only come from the employer, because they depend on the actual products, equipment and emergency plan at your workplace.

Every worker who works with a hazardous product, or may be exposed to one in the course of their work. In B.C. that is common in construction and renovation, warehousing at the ports and in the Lower Mainland distribution hubs, manufacturing, forestry and sawmills, food processing, healthcare, cleaning, auto and marine repair, and labs.

B.C. employers often ask for a WHMIS certificate at hiring so the section 5.6 education is already on file. The site orientation then covers the section 5.7 training for that workplace.

Training a crew? B.C. employers may be able to recover part of the cost through the B.C. Employer Training Grant, if the training is eligible and you apply before it starts.

The Regulation does not put an expiry date on a WHMIS certificate. It requires the employer’s WHMIS program to be reviewed at least annually (s. 5.5 (b)), and knowledge to be checked periodically (s. 5.5 (c)). Retraining is needed sooner when new products, new hazard information or new procedures come in.

A short online refresher with a final exam is one practical way to show the periodic knowledge check, alongside the employer’s own site-specific review. Your employer decides how often.