Bill C-45 came as a result of the Westray Mine disaster and is more about assigning liability to managers and owners if it can be shown they are disregarding known hazards or requiring workers to work beyond their training. In BC electrical work can only be performed by qualified persons. For voltages above 150 volts to ground that is powerline technicians and electricians. I think neon sign installers are an exception but they must of course be restricted to neon signs. So if in a facility there is a handyman changing lighting ballasts on a 347/600 circuit he would be in violation of wcb regs and possibly bill C-45 if he was doing so at the direction of the office manager for example.
As far as I know C-45 has not yet been tested in court as there has not been another disaster like Westray where it can be shown that the owners are ignoring hazards in favour of profit. We are using this legislation to influence our employer to profide flame proof clothing for our electricians and inspectors as WCB has not yet mandated this type of protection.
