At its meeting on October 26, 2004, the Board of Directors approved amendments to policies in the Prevention Manual dealing with the responsibilities and accountability of owners in multiple owner situations. The key changes include:

Amendments to Item D3-119-1 (General Duties - Owners) to:

• expressly recognize that more than one person may simultaneously qualify as an owner of a particular workplace,
• clarify that all owners are responsible for fulfilling the occupational health and safety duties in respect of a particular workplace unless the "limited exemption" under section 124 of the Workers Compensation Act ("Act") applies,
• clarify that more than one owner may be held responsible for the same regulatory violation in a multiple owner situation, and
• clarify that WCB officers will apply the factors listed in the Owners Policy (which are rephrased in a more directive manner) to decide which owner(s) should be held responsible for a particular regulatory violation.

• Amendments to Item D3-123/124-1 (General Duties - Overlapping Obligations) to clarify that.
• the "limited exemption" under section 124 of the Act will only apply if the Workers' Compensation Board determines that the three stated requirements have been satisfied, and
• any agreement between two or more persons regarding who will comply with their shared obligations, will only relate to the first of these requirements.

The policy amendments took effect on December 1, 2004 and apply to all situations in which an owner has responsibilities under section 119 of the Act on or after December 1, 2004.