What is WHMIS?

WHMIS stands for Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. WHMIS was created to ensure the safety of employers and employees in Canadian workplaces. WHMIS is designed to keep workers and employers informed of the dangers and hazards associated with the chemicals and substances that they may come into contact with while on the job.

The key elements of WHMIS and WHMIS training are labeling of containers, the safety data sheets (SDS) and worker education/training programs.

For additional WHMIS information please view our WHMIS FAQ here.

Who Should Take WHMIS training?

Everyone who works with or may come into contact with hazardous materials at work needs to be trained on the WHMIS system.

This may include maintenance and janitorial staff, office personnel, teachers, co-op students, shop/science students, auto mechanics, restaurant workers, health clinic and lab staff, nurses, doctors and more.

Some common examples of workplace hazardous products include certain cleaning products, degreasers, fire extinguishers, lubricants, chlorine, gasoline and propane.

What are the latest updates to WHMIS?

WHMIS was last updated in December 2022. This newest update changed the name of the regulations from WHMIS 2015 GHS back to just WHMIS. Additionally hazardous classification methods were updated and two new physical hazard classes were added: Aerosols and Chemicals under pressure. These changes primarily affect suppliers and manufacturers and the impact on training was minimal.

You can learn about the latest WHMIS changes here.

About WHMIS Online Training

Since many workers in Canada use or are exposed to hazardous products every day at work, this online training program was designed to meet Canada-wide requirements for general WHMIS training and is not industry specific. WHMIS certificates are issued upon successful completion and also emailed to the Training Administrator.

You can view a free demo of our WHMIS course here.

YOW Canada has introduced customization options allowing organizations to add some content, such as specific SDSs or storage/disposal instructions, logos, etc. For more information please visit: https://www.yowcanada.com/course_customization.asp

This course is available in English or in French, when a trainee logs into the training they can choose their preferred language.

View this page in French.