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Safety accreditation and public sector procurement.

Ontario Regulation 364/25 changed how public sector buyers treat accredited health and safety management systems when they procure construction work. The rule sits with the buyers, not the contractors bidding to them. This page explains what it requires, what it means if you already hold an accredited system, and what it does not mean.

01 / What changed

A new rule on recognizing accredited safety systems.

Ontario Regulation 364/25 governs the recognition of accredited health and safety management systems in public sector construction procurement. The information here is current as of May 6, 2026.

The accreditation itself comes through Supporting Ontario's Safe Employers, known as SOSE, which accredits health and safety management systems through the Chief Prevention Officer, the CPO. The regulation is about how public sector buyers must treat those accredited systems during procurement.

02 / What it requires, of whom

The obligation falls on public sector buyers.

It applies to public sector organizations entering construction procurement contracts: municipalities, school boards, post-secondary institutions, hospitals, boards of health, and local housing corporations.

Those buyers must recognize all CPO-accredited systems as equivalent. They cannot accept one accredited system in their prequalification criteria and exclude another.

Non-compliance carries an administrative penalty of $100,000 or 10 percent of project value, whichever is lower, under Ontario Regulation 365/25.

03 / If you hold one

An accredited system cannot be rejected as the wrong one.

If you hold a CPO-accredited health and safety management system, a covered public sector buyer cannot treat it as the wrong kind of accreditation. Every CPO-accredited system must be recognized as equivalent, so a buyer cannot favour one accredited system in prequalification and exclude yours.

04 / What it does not mean

It is not a requirement to be accredited.

The regulation binds buyers, not contractors. It does not require any contractor to hold an accredited system. If you do not have one, this rule does not create an obligation to get one.

It also does not guarantee prequalification. Recognizing accredited systems as equivalent is a rule about how buyers evaluate them, not a promise that any particular bidder qualifies.

Safety documentation, ready for prequalification.

OpDeploy prepares the safety documentation buyers ask for in prequalification. If you want that material organized before the next request, the readiness checklist is a place to start.

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This page is general business information, not legal, safety or certification advice. Requirements vary by client, industry and procurement process.