Free Workplace Naloxone Training through CLAC in Ontario

Are you required to provide naloxone training? CLAC can help

CLAC Training has partnered with the Ontario government’s Workplace Naloxone Program to provide free workplace naloxone training to all eligible employers in Ontario.

Naloxone can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, allowing time for medical help to arrive.

Which employers are eligible? All employers who are required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) Sec. 25(2) to make naloxone available in their workplace, as well as to ensure someone in the workplace is trained in its use. Eligible employers are those who become aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, that

• there is a risk of a worker opioid overdose,
• the overdose may occur in the employer’s workplace, and
• the worker performs work for the employer (i.e., is not employed by another employer at the same location).

All employers who must supply naloxone kits must also ensure that, whenever there are workers in the workplace, the naloxone kit is in the charge of a worker who

• works in the vicinity of the kit, and
• has received training to recognize an opioid overdose, to administer naloxone, and to acquaint the worker with any hazards related to the administration of naloxone.

The new naloxone requirements came into effect on June 1, 2023, and the free training is available until February 28, 2024, for up to two workers per worksite per eligible employer.

“With the rising opioid crisis, it is important that naloxone, and naloxone training, becomes more widely available,” says Colin de Raaf, CLAC Training Ontario director who also serves on the MLITSD Prevention Council for workplace health and safety. “The crisis has impacted workers in all sectors, and particularly in construction. As a multisector union focused on creating safe workplaces, we feel it is important to offer this training—not only to our members, but to all companies, in all sectors across Ontario that need this training.”

CLAC’s Workplace Naloxone Training is open to all eligible employers in Ontario—regardless of sector or union affiliation. To learn more and to sign up for this training, visit clac.ca/naloxone.