The Certificate of Recognition (COR™) is nationally trademarked and endorsed by Ontario’s Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) and the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA).
The Certificate of Recognition (COR™) program is often required for Ontario construction contracts in both the public and private sectors. For example, some municipalities expect their contractors to be registered with the COR™ program in order for them to qualify for bidding opportunities. By achieving COR™, organizations are able to demonstrate that their health and safety management system has been developed, implemented, and evaluated on an annual basis through comprehensive internal and external audits.
In February of 2017, City Council endorsed the requirement for City of Brampton vendors to be COR certified. The City's plans to implement COR into construction tenders are as follows:
- Contracts valued at $25M or more - COR certification required as of January 2019
- Contracts valued at $10M or more - COR certification required as of January 2020
- Contracts valued at $5M or more - COR certification required as of January 2021. This requirement will remain the same for the year 2023.
- Contracts valued at $5M or less - COR certification to be required as of January 2024, subject to review by the city.
Council has also endorsed a pilot project for the Public Works and Engineering Department to become COR certified. As such the department is committed to supporting all auditing activities necessary to implement COR. Audits typically include interviews, documentation review, and observation techniques to evaluate how well the employer is able to identify, assess, and control risks to workers.
Protecting the health and safety of all workers at all times is the right thing to do. Effective development and maintenance of a health and safety management system is a proactive approach to eliminating workplace injuries and illness, and ensuring superior safety practices in the workplace.
