WHMIS stands for the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System.
It is a comprehensive system for providing health and safety information on hazardous products intended for use, handling, or storage in Canadian workplaces.
Note: This document discusses the WHMIS requirements as regulated by federal legislation – the Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR). This document reflects the changes introduced in December 2022 which are in force.
Note that WHMIS is also regulated in the workplace by the provinces, territories and federally regulated workplaces under their occupational health and safety legislation. While these jurisdictions based their WHMIS regulations on a common model, small variations between jurisdictions may exist.
WHMIS first became law in 1988 through a series of complementary federal, provincial and territorial legislation and regulations. The goal was to create a hazard communication standard that communicates important health and safety information about hazardous products employers and workers may be exposed to in their workplaces. This original system was identified as WHMIS 1988.
In recent years, WHMIS has aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) - which is a worldwide hazard communication system that has many benefits. To align with GHS, the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and Regulations (HPR) were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on February 11, 2015. This WHMIS system was identified as WHMIS 2015. As of December 1, 2018, all manufacturers, importers, distributors, suppliers and employers transitioned to WHMIS 2015.
Updates to the HPA and HPR came into force on December 15, 2022, to align with the 7th revised edition and certain provisions of the 8th edition of the GHS. Suppliers were granted a 3-year transition period (until December 15, 2025) to bring product classifications, safety data sheets and labels into compliance with updated amendments. This updated WHMIS system is now identified as amended WHMIS and WHMIS 2015 is now referred to as former WHMIS. As further updates are expected over time, versions of the HPR will now be distinguished with the terms former and amended.
During the three-year transition period, parties could choose to comply with either the former HPR or the amended HPR, but not both. As of December 15, 2025, all parties must be compliant with the amended WHMIS. This means that suppliers and employers must use and follow the amended WHMIS requirements for labels and safety data sheets (SDSs) for hazardous products sold, distributed, or imported into Canada.
The Struggle to Gain the Right to Know
The WHMIS regulation was drafted in discussions among the members of a tri-partite committee composed of unions, employers and government representatives. It was the mass work refusals and advocacy of our members from Local 673, Local 112, and Local 1967 of the De Havilland, Woodbridge Foam, and MacDonnell Douglas Aerospace plants, who refused to work with hazardous chemicals without being provided information, education and training, which ensured the committee’s work became law.
The most notable impacts of the transition from former WHMIS to the amended WHMIS are:
- Improved clarity and precision for certain provisions
- New information elements required on safety data sheets and labels
- Adoption of a new physical hazard class “Chemicals Under Pressure”
- A change in name of the physical hazard class “Flammable Aerosols” to “Aerosols”
- A new hazard category for non-flammable aerosols (Aerosols – Category 3)
- A split in the hazard category Flammable Gases – Category 1 into Categories 1A and 1B
o Inclusion of Pyrophoric gases under Flammable gases – Category 1A instead of being its own hazard class.
o Inclusion of Chemically Unstable Gases into the new Flammable gases – Category 1A - For more key changes see Appendix A at the end of this document. As information changes, it is important to stay current about WHMIS requirements in each jurisdiction. Access useful resources and information, by checking the WHMIS.org portal regularly. WHMIS.org is provided through the collaboration of Health Canada, the regulatory jurisdictions across Canada, and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
What are the employer’s duties?
In Canadian workplaces where hazardous products are present the employer must:
Transition to amended WHMIS:
Employers must ensure they are compliant with updated WHMIS requirements and that their training programs reflect the new classifications, SDS formats, and label information that is mandatory.
Implement Worker Education and Training
Program:
All Canadian jurisdictions require that employers develop, implement, and maintain a worker WHMIS education and training program. Employers are expected to consult with the joint health and safety committee (JHSC) when developing, implementing, or reviewing the education and training programs.
Employers are responsible for providing workers with the necessary training to understand any updated WHMIS information and how to use it to protect their health and safety. This includes both WHMIS Education and Workplace-specific training.
WHMIS Education should train workers on the principles of WHMIS, and the meaning of the information on labels and safety data sheets (SDSs). Generic WHMIS education can apply to any workplace.
Workplace-specific training should ensure workers know how to work safely with hazardous products they may encounter in their actual workplace, and safe methods specific to the work that workers will be performing in the workplace.
Workers should be able to answer these questions for every hazardous product they work with:
• What are the hazards of the product?
• How do I protect myself from those hazards?
• What do I do in case of an emergency?
• Where can I get further information?
Implement a Control Program:
Employers must ensure that appropriate control measures are in place to protect the health and safety of workers. This includes conducting risk assessments and utilizing the hierarchy of controls to develop adequate controls that protect workers.
Any control program should cover the traditional routes of entry including inhalation (fumes and vapors), ingestion (accidently eaten or swallowed), absorption (through clothes and skin), and injection (needles, slivers, pressurized air).
The main way to control a hazard include:
- Elimination: Removing the hazard from the workplace.
- Substitution: Replacing or substituting the hazard with a less hazardous product (chemical hazards are the most common control by substitution).
- Engineering Controls: Physical or mechanical systems or modifications to workplaces (equipment, ventilation systems, processes, etc.) that reduce the source of exposure by isolating workers from hazards at the source
- Administrative Controls: Change the way the work is done, and/or develop work practices such as standards and operating procedures (with relevant training) and warnings (signs, backup alarms, computer messages).
- Personal Protective Equipment: Equipment , clothing, and devices worn by workers to reduce exposure to a hazard (Respirators, Tyvek suits, Hearing protection, etc.).
NOTE - A legal limit such as an occupational exposure limit should never be viewed as a line between “safe” and “unsafe”. The best approach is to always keep exposures or the risk of a hazard as low as possible or eliminated altogether.
Compliance:
The employer has the general responsibility to ensure that hazardous products in their workplaces are properly labeled (supplier label or workplace labels) and that workers are provided ready access to upto-date hazard information and SDSs. This may include employers preparing SDSs (e.g. if an employer manufactures a hazardous product that is used on-site).
WHMIS Labels
In Canada, WHMIS legislation requires that products used in the workplace that meet the criteria to be classified as hazardous products be labelled. Labels are the first visual alert to workers about any major hazards associated with a workplace product and outline the basic precautions or safety information that should be taken.
As with previous WHMIS legislation there are two main types of WHMIS Labels; Supplier and Workplace. Employers are responsible for making sure that hazardous products that come into the workplace are labelled and for preparing and applying a supplier or workplace label when appropriate.
What is a Supplier Label and what does it need to include?
A supplier label is a worker’s first source of information about a product’s hazards. It is usually affixed by the supplier of the hazardous product and should appear on all hazardous products received in a workplace. There is no set format for a supplier label however labels will generally require the following:
• Be in English and French. They may be bilingual (as one label) or be presented as two labels (on each in English and French),
• Product Identifier and initial supplier contact information,
• Hazard Pictogram (when required), Signal Word, and Hazard Statement grouped together,
• Precautionary Statements,
• Supplemental label information,
• Be clearly and prominently displayed on the container,
• Easy to read and durable,
• In contrast with other information on the product or container.
A label is required to be updated when the supplier becomes aware of any “significant new data”. If employers receive information about new significant data from a supplier, the employer must use this information to update all of the relevant supplier labels.
If the label is lost, damaged, or no longer readable, the product must be relabelled with a new supplier label or a workplace label.
If the hazardous product is always used in the container with the supplier label, no other label is required.
What is a Workplace Label and what does it need to include?
A workplace label is an important source of information about a product’s hazards. Workplace labels can be communicated in a manner that is appropriate to the workplace, including meeting language requirements. The workplace label is one that the employer produces and is only for use in the employer’s workplace. In general, a workplace label requires the following information:
• Product name,
• Safe handling precautions that may include hazard pictograms or other supplier label information,
• A reference to the SDS,
• Labels must be easy to read and durable.
Workplace label requirements fall under your regulated workplace jurisdiction however a workplace label is generally required when:
• a hazardous product is produced (made) at the workplace and used in that workplace,
• a hazardous product is decanted (e.g., transferred, emptied, poured) into another container, or
• a supplier label becomes missing or illegible.
What is a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and what does it need to include?
If a product covered by the HPA meets the criteria to be classified in a hazard class or category as listed in the HPR, it is considered a hazardous product. Every product classified as a hazardous product under WHMIS that is intended for use, handling or storage in a workplace in Canada must have an SDS. (Products exempted from WHMIS are listed in Section 12 and Schedule 1 of the HPA). SDSs are standardized summary documents that provide information about the hazards of a workplace product and advice about safety precautions. SDSs provide significantly more detailed hazard information about the product than a supplier or workplace label. This includes telling workers what the hazards of the product are, how to use the product safely, what to expect if the recommendations are not followed, how to recognize symptoms of exposure, and what to do if emergencies occur, etc. In addition to being an important resource for workers and workplaces, the SDS may also be used by JHSCs, health and safety representatives, and local unions to learn about the past and present hazards or exposures that have happened in workplaces they represent.
Employers are required to make sure that all hazardous products have an up-to-date SDS when they enter the workplace. The SDSs must be readily available to the workers who are exposed to the hazardous product, and to the JHSC. Furthermore, any person working with hazardous products in the workplace should be familiar with the hazards before any use of the hazardous product.
Although there are some exceptions, Schedule 1 within the HPR outlines the required 16 sections for any SDS in their specified order. SDSs have many different audiences, and these required sections ensure that anyone reviewing a SDS can quickly find the information that they need. The information on a SDS will be listed in the following specific sections:
- Identification
- Name of product
- Name and address of supplier/manufacturer
- Recommended use
- Emergency telephone information
2. Hazard Identification
- Hazard classification
- Label elements, such as the signal word and hazard statement(s)
3. Composition/Information on ingredients
- Chemical name
- Common name and synonyms
- CAS number
- Concentration
4. First-aid measures
- First aid measures by route of exposure (Inhalation, Ingestion, Skin contact, Eye contact)
- Symptoms and effects (acute or delayed)
- Indication of special medical treatment or immediate medical attention
5. Fire-fighting measures
Suitable and unsuitable extinguishing media
Specific hazards arising from the hazardous product (e.g., hazardous combustion products)
Special protective equipment and precautions for fire-fighters
6. Accidental release measures
Personal precautions, protective equipment and emergency procedures
Methods and materials for containment and cleaning up
7. Handling and storage
Precautions for safe handling and storage
8. Exposure controls/Personal protection
Occupational exposure guidelines (ACGIH etc.)
Any required engineering controls
Use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
9. Physical and chemical properties
Appearance
Odour
Odour threshold
pH; etc.
10. Stability and reactivity
Reactivity
Chemical stability
Possibility of hazardous reactions
Conditions to avoid (e.g., static discharge, shock, or vibration)
Incompatible materials
Hazardous decomposition product
11. Toxicological information
Description of the various toxic effects and information on likely routes of exposure
12. Ecological information
Ecotoxicity information and other information about potential adverse effects on the
environment
13. Disposal considerations
Information on safe handling for disposal and methods
14. Transport information
UN Number
UN shipping name
Packing group
Other TDG information
15. Regulatory information
Safety, health and environmental regulations specific to the product
16. Other information
Date of SDS revision and any other pertinent information
Hazard Classes and Categories
WHMIS divides hazardous products into two major hazard groups: physical hazards and health hazards.
Physical hazards group: based on the product’s physical or chemical properties, such examples include but are not limited to flammability, asphyxiants, self reacting substances, combustible dusts, or corrosivity to metals.
Health hazards group: based on the ability of the product to cause a health effect, such examples include but are not limited to skin, eye, or respiratory irritation or damage, toxicity (including reproductive toxicity) and carcinogenicity (may cause cancer).
These two groups are further divided into hazard classes and categories. Each hazard class contains at least one category, which is assigned a number. Hazard classes are a way of grouping together products that have similar properties. Categories may also be called “types,” which are assigned an alphabetical letter.
The category tells you how hazardous a product is:
- Category 1 is always the most hazardous class
- If Category 1 is further divided, Category 1A within the same hazard class will be more hazardous
than Category 1B - Category 2 within the same hazard class is more hazardous than Category 3, and so forth
Pictograms
Pictograms are graphic images that immediately show a worker using a hazardous product what type of hazard is present. With a quick glance, you can see, for example, that the product is flammable or that it might be a health hazard.
Most pictograms have a distinctive red “square set on one of its points” border. Inside this border is a symbol that represents the potential hazard (e.g., fire, health hazard, corrosive, etc.). Together, the symbol and the border are referred to as a pictogram. Pictograms are assigned to specific hazard classes or categories.
Concluding Statements
WHMIS updates ultimately benefit workers because they require more comprehensive health and safety information to be outlined on labels and safety data sheets (SDS), which will help ensure the proper controls are in place to protect workers.
