Naloxone kits mandatory in high-risk Ontario workplaces starting tomorrow

Some workplaces in Ontario will be required to carry a kit used to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

As of Thursday, workplace safety legislation mandates what the government has called "high-risk" workplaces to have a naloxone kit available.

Employers must have naloxone and training if they become aware that a worker could overdose on opioids, that they could overdose while on the job, and that the risk is posed by a person working directly for the employer.

If only one of the conditions apply, the employer is not mandated to have a kit.

Workplaces required to comply are eligible for a free naloxone kit and training for up to two workers.

The province says about 30 per cent of workers who died from opioids from March 2020 to January 2021 were employed in the construction industry.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2023.