Workplace Safety & Prevention Services | 10
SMALL BUSINESS
Almost 98%
of Ontario businesses
are small businesses
(1–99 EMPLOYEES)
4
.
WSPS volunteer John Brenders
spreading the safety message
in Port Stanley, Ontario
Combatting workplace harassment
A 2018 report from Statistics Canada
3
found that almost
one in five women had been harassed at work at
some point during the year while one in every eight
men reported similar experiences. To provide small
businesses with free resources on stopping harassment,
WSPS added some essential new tools to its Small
Business Centre in 2019. These resources are aimed
at helping employers meet their responsibilities and
increasing understanding of the workplace harassment
complaint investigation process.
3
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2018001/article/54982-eng.htm
4
Statistics Canada, Table 33-10-0037-01 — Canadian Business Counts, with employees, December 2018
Downtown Health and Safety Day
WSPS and some of its volunteers brought health and safety to the doorsteps of small businesses in
October 2019. Partnering with the local business improvement association, volunteers visited more than
30 businesses in the downtown Port Stanley area. Business owners appreciated the opportunity to meet
their local WSPS representative, ask questions and get tips on helpful free resources.
More businesses accessing Small Business Centre resources
In October 2019, WSPS celebrated Small Business Week by letting businesses know about the free
resources in its online Small Business Centre. Results of a digital outreach campaign show that more
businesses accessed health and safety information than during the previous year's effort. Emails were sent
out to 27.4% more businesses than in 2018, with 22.8% more customers opening the email. Even better,
clicks to access the linked resources increased by almost 110%.
