Quality Assurance in a Regulatory Environment
Abstract
The Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) Operations Division is responsible for setting, communicating and enforcing the Employment Standards Act and Occupational Health and Safety Act and associated regulations in the province of Ontario. The Division has 1000 staff that are geographically dispersed across the province. Quality assurance is paramount to the success and continuous improvement of this organization. It is essential to ensuring fair and consistent enforcement in Ontario’s workplaces. Participants in this session will learn about how a Code of Professional, a Divisional approach to staff development and training and ongoing quality audits are used to enhance quality assurance. Discussion will also explore areas to improve quality assurance.
Bio
Sandra Lawson has been with the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) since January 2000 and is currently the acting Director for Eastern Regions Operations Division. Sandra has had many opportunities with MOL. She was hired as a District Manager with responsibility for the delivery of the Health and Safety and Employment Standards programs in the Ottawa area. In 2005, the Division restructured to accommodate recruitment of an additional 230 Health and Safety Inspectors. Sandra then became the Manager of the Industrial Health and Safety Program for Eastern Region. She has also acted as Provincial Coordinator for the Industrial Health and Safety Program. Before joining the Ministry of Labour, Sandra coordinated the Ottawa Inter-Ministry Learning Opportunities Program (IMLOP) – an innovative cost recovery staff development program for Ontario Public Servants in Eastern Ontario. Prior to IMLOP, Sandra spent several years as a Rural Community Development practitioner with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and as a veterinary pharmaceutical sales rep with Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd and . Sandra holds undergraduate degrees in Agricultural Science and in Education and an executive MBA from the University of Ottawa.
Sandra is past chair of the Eastern Ontario Client Service Council for Workplace Health and Safety, past chair of the Vincent Massey School Council and currently chairs the Board of Directors for Safe Communities Ottawa. Sandra lives in Ottawa with her 12-year old daughter Dorothy and husband Erik.