Ontario Appoints New Chief Prevention Officer

Video Clips of the Announcement

Ministry of Labour

Province Committed to Ensuring Safe and Healthy Workplaces

Toronto, ON – March 6, 2018

The province has appointed Ron Kelusky as Ontario’s new Chief Prevention Officer (CPO), continuing the government’s commitment to ensuring safe and healthy workplaces.

Prior to his appointment as the CPO, Mr. Kelusky was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Public Services Health and Safety Association and was responsible for health and safety solutions for Ontario’s healthcare, education, government and First Nations sectors. Mr. Kelusky led a number of projects including a system-wide review of violence in the health care sector and strategies on improving outcomes for first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Chief Prevention Officer oversees the Prevention Office within the Ministry of Labour, and has a wide range of responsibilities, including:

Working with Ontario’s health and safety system partners to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities
Reporting to the Minister of Labour on the performance of Ontario’s occupational health and safety system
Setting province-wide training and safety programs standards
The establishment of a provincial occupational health and safety strategy
Improving occupational health and safety is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan also includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.