“Due diligence” comes up in every safety meeting, audit and incident report. But many employers and supervisors aren’t sure what it means in practice. Here’s a plain-language look at where the idea comes from, how it connects to your duties in Alberta, and what it looks like on an ordinary workday.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Where the idea comes from
Most OHS offences in Canada are what courts call strict liability offences. The idea comes from a 1978 Supreme Court of Canada decision, R v Sault Ste Marie. In general terms, the court said the prosecution doesn’t have to prove you meant to break the law. It only has to prove the offence happened.
You can then defend yourself by showing you took all reasonable care to prevent it. It’s up to you to show this, not up to the prosecution to disprove it. That defence is what people mean by due diligence.
What due diligence means
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) describes due diligence as the reasonable precautions an employer takes, in the circumstances, to prevent harm at work. That includes situations the legislation doesn’t spell out.
One point matters more than any other. As CCOHS puts it, due diligence is shown by the actions you take before an event, not after. You can’t build it once an officer is on site.
How it connects to Alberta’s OHS Act
Section 3 of Alberta’s OHS Act says every employer must ensure, as far as it is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of workers and others at or near the work site. The same part also requires employers to:
- make sure workers are adequately trained to do their work safely
- make sure workers know their rights and duties under the Act, the regulations and the OHS Code
- use supervisors who are competent and familiar with the rules that apply to the work
- resolve health and safety concerns in a timely manner
Alberta’s fact sheet on reasonably practicable explains the difference well. Reasonably practicable is an ongoing duty to prevent incidents before they happen. Due diligence is a legal defence raised after an incident. If you meet the first one every day, you’ll have what you need for the second.
What it looks like in practice
CCOHS lists the main parts of a due diligence program. In short, you should:
- Find hazards and control them. Have a plan to identify hazards and take corrective action.
- Write it down. Keep written policies, safe work procedures and inspection results.
- Train workers. Give them the information and training to follow those procedures.
- Train supervisors. Make sure they are competent and know the hazards they oversee.
- Check and enforce. Watch the work, make sure procedures are followed and deal with breaches consistently.
- Investigate. Look into incidents and near misses, then fix what you find.
- Include everyone. Contractors, visitors, students and volunteers count too.
Four questions to test your program
CCOHS suggests asking these questions about any task or hazard:
- Could a reasonable person foresee something going wrong?
- How serious could the harm be?
- Can the incident be prevented?
- Who is responsible for preventing it?
If the answer to the first question is yes, you need a control in place and proof that it’s working.
Records are your evidence
Good intentions don’t count for much if nobody can show what was done. CCOHS gives examples of records that help show due diligence:
- orientation and training records
- workplace inspections and the corrective actions that followed
- hazard assessments and the controls chosen
- supervisor notes and safety meeting minutes
- equipment logs and maintenance records
- incident and near-miss reports
- records of how safety rules were enforced
Keep records dated, signed and easy to find. For equipment operators, see our post on what makes a good operator training record.
Common gaps
- A procedure exists, but nobody was trained on it.
- Workers were trained, but nobody checked they could do the task.
- An inspection found a problem, but there’s no record it was fixed.
- Rules are enforced for some workers and not others.
Each of these can undo the rest of your program. Follow your employer’s procedures and the rules in your province, and talk to a safety professional or lawyer about your own situation.
Build the habits
Our Due Diligence for Supervisors course covers what due diligence means, a supervisor’s duties under Alberta’s OHS Act, and the inspections, training records and follow-up that show reasonable care. It takes about 50 minutes and includes printable forms. For front-line staff, see Due Diligence for Workers.