Ontario One Call to support better locate performance as Administrative Penalty regulation comes into force May 1, 2024

GUELPH, ON, April 24, 2024 /CNW/ - Ontario One Call (OOC) is working closely with underground infrastructure owners/operators and excavators to usher in a new era of improved locate performance in the province of Ontario.

Improving locate performance is a key priority for OOC who is making every effort to work across the sector to facilitate timely locates and encourage safe excavation.

Ontario One Call is an administrative authority that promotes safe excavation (Click Before You Dig) and facilitates locate requests made by those wanting to dig (excavators) in the province of Ontario. The organization operates a web platform and contact centre that relays locate requests from excavators to underground infrastructure owners across the province. 

A regulation, effective May 1, 2024, will provide assessors appointed by OOC with the regulatory authority to issue administrative penalties for non-compliance with prescribed provisions of the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012, including digging without locates or not delivering locates within specified timelines.

"Ontario One Call will be implementing this new regulation judiciously, in a risk-based and proportionate manner, relying on existing compliance tools to encourage locate performance improvement over time. In so doing, our objective is to foster collaboration between industry participants and support industry performance improvement to allow projects to be completed on schedule. Our focus remains on ensuring individuals are aware of their responsibilities under the Act and working with them towards a common goal of compliance with the law. As a result, OOC will make every effort to educate individuals on their responsibilities under the Act, with penalties used where appropriate in the exercise of independent discretion by OOC's assessors appointed under the Act," Jim Keech, President and CEO.

"Ontario One Call plays an important role in educating the public and the industry about the need for safe digging practices. Digging safely is not just a shared mission to keep Ontarians safe, it is also the first step in building Ontario faster. OOC's expanded regulatory function and tools will support industry performance, safer practices, and, ultimately, Ontario's growth.

We are ready to execute on our mandate in a fair, transparent, and accountable manner and we look forward to collaborating with the industry to enhance safety and locate delivery performance." said Ryan McAfee, Director of Compliance and Industry Performance.

Ontario One Call is an administrative authority that acts as a communications link between utility companies, underground infrastructure owners, excavators and individuals who are planning to dig in the province of Ontario. In 2012, the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act was passed, which stipulates by law that anyone in the province of Ontario must contact Ontario One Call before they dig.

On March 20, 2024, Ontario One Call hosted a webinar for stakeholders to provide specific details on how the administrative penalty system would be implemented.  Over 600 individuals attended the session and participated in a live Q&A discussion. The organization has also met with several industry associations, presented at targeted conferences and met with interested excavators to further inform all participants of their obligations as they prepare for this regulatory change.

Additional resources and information can be found on Ontario One Call's website at https://ontarioonecall.ca/compliance-enforcement/. 

SOURCE Ontario One Call