For those we regulate, the Code outlines our commitment to be clear about how we work with you. You will know what to expect of us and what we will expect of you. This allows you to focus on your business activities, while complying with Ontario’s laws and rules.

For other relevant searches, you might want to try: strainers, basket strainers, tee strainers, temporary strainers, y strainers, chexter, sure check, check valves, silent check valves, control cheks, butterfly valves.

Today, Mueller Steam Specialty is the world’s largest supplier of strainers and the number one provider of specialty products serving the valve industry. While the company has seen many changes, the dedication to quality, service and delivery remains the same. As always, Mueller Steam Specialty brand strainers and valves will continue to be the premier products of their kind in the marketplace.

We conduct and conclude our activities in a timely fashion. We adhere to legislative requirements, policies and procedures regarding timelines and meet all internal and external time commitments.

Ontario is committed to protecting the things that matter most to Ontarians – the health, safety, and well-being of our people, environment and economy. To do this means working with each other, including those we regulate, and the public.

Learn what the expectations are for regulators, how they carry out their duties and how these principles apply to all ministries responsible for front-line regulatory delivery.

We target our efforts based on risk so that resources are focused on preventing and addressing the issues that matter most to Ontarians. To make it easier to do business in Ontario, we support those that act responsibly and have proven records of compliance, while protecting the public interest in the most efficient and effective way possible. To achieve this, we:

We aim to provide equitable treatment of all persons in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and promote a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of each person we encounter. We are committed to working safely in accordance with Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990. We also work to ensure that Ontario’s business climate is robust, and we conduct our duties in a way that facilitates compliance and success of businesses operating in the province.

While Ontario’s regulatory mandate is diverse, we are committed to high standards of regulatory service in the public interest. This Regulators’ Code of Practice (the Code) provides a set of principles that establish expectations for carrying out our duties. With some exceptions, it applies to all Ontario Government ministries with responsibility for front-line regulatory deliveryfootnote 1[1] (for example, compliance promotion, inspections, audits, investigations, enforcement, etc.). We consider these principles when:

We treat everyone with respect and are courteous and professional at all times, and in all situations. We carry out our duties with a view to promoting diversity and inclusion, in alignment with the OPS’ core values.

We aim to provide accessible, responsive, reliable, fair and accountable service, in keeping with the OPS Service Directive. We provide information in a manner that meets the needs of each person we encounter, for example, proactive offer of services in French (French Language Services Act, RSO 1990); use of alternative formats (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005).

The Code promotes fair treatment and respect while you are being inspected, audited, investigated or otherwise regulated. In return, we ask you to be co-operative and to provide us with complete information in your dealings with us. This fair and consistent approach is pivotal to creating a level regulatory playing field for businesses in Ontario.

We treat all information obtained by any means in confidence unless performance of our duties or legal provisions require otherwise. We collect, use, and share or retain all internal and external information in compliance with applicable legislation, regulations, legal privileges, policies and procedures.

Where there is a high degree of risk, serious misconduct or repeated non-compliance, decisive and appropriate action may be taken right away.

We enhance and improve our level of knowledge and capabilities through a commitment to continuous learning and are competent when executing our responsibilities.

To provide effective and professional service, our front-line staff are trained on the following practices and principles:

We use our discretion to determine the best compliance action based on an assessment of risk and the surrounding circumstances. In our application of discretion, we are mindful of the importance of providing businesses and other regulated entities with a level playing field, which is achieved in part by a principled, consistent approach to verifying compliance. This is an important balance we must consider as modern regulators. With this approach we:

We welcome feedback from everyone involved, including through appropriate public consultations with businesses and other regulated entities, to help us strengthen how we protect those things that matter most to Ontarians.

In all interactions, we perform our activities in a professional manner, in accordance with the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 and Ontario’s public service values. Our front-line staff are trained on the following elements of professionalism:

Supporting a strong, innovative economy that can provide jobs and prosperity for all Ontarians, with an additional mandate for small business.

Businesses are key to the province’s economic growth. Ontario’s regulatory professionals and compliance staff (including inspectors and auditors, among others) are critical in supporting businesses to comply with regulatory requirements. Smarter regulatory practices that effectively balance consistency, discretion, and support information sharing across regulatory bodies are key to our collective success. Ministries that conduct regulatory oversight and associated functions relating to entities that are not businesses, or whose primary purpose is to serve vulnerable members of the public, must afford due consideration and take appropriate actions to ensure the achievement of specific policy objectives, while protecting the public interest. For example, the regulatory activities carried out by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services must always focus on and prioritize the best interests, protection, safety and well-being of vulnerable children, young persons and adults receiving services funded and/or licensed by the ministry.

At all times, staff seek to work cooperatively and in a professional manner with the responsible person(s) and/or organization(s) to help address impacts of an incident and to prevent recurrence.

We conduct our duties in a way that inspires confidence and respect for our position of public trust. We do not engage in activities that are, or could appear to be, incompatible with our responsibilities and duties, or call into question our objectivity, integrity and impartiality.

We treat everyone impartially and perform our duties objectively. We make decisions based on relevant legislation, the common law, standards, practices, policies and procedures.

This approach can provide greater certainty to the regulated community which will improve confidence in our actions and, combined with risk-based targeting, can assist in achieving compliance with the least burden. Having greater impact with less burden by focusing on outcomes is how we help responsible businesses to comply and grow.

Upholding the public trust is important for the work we do. We achieve this by being consistent and clear about our regulatory approaches, including the processes we follow and how feedback can be provided on our service or decisions. Maintaining consistency in our approach provides businesses and other regulated entities with a stable, outcomes-focused, and where appropriate, flexible regulatory environment.

While most individuals, businesses, and other regulated organizations in Ontario comply with our laws, some may have difficulty complying due to:

We aim to apply these tools in a manner that is proportionate to the circumstances, based on a compliance continuum. This includes providing education or assistance to encourage voluntary compliance, with progressive escalation (For example, warnings, orders, tickets, penalties, etc.) where needed to correct or improve compliance, and focusing enforcement on high-risk entities, including willful and/or persistent non-compliers.

Collaborating with other regulators promotes consistency in our approaches to better protect the public interest. Coordinating our efforts and sharing information also reduce burdens on those we regulate, including minimizing duplication. To help Ontario businesses compete locally and globally by improving inspections and streamlining compliance activities, we:

We aim to achieve the intended outcomes of our regulations without placing unnecessary burden on those we regulate. This helps create a level playing field within the regulated community. We focus on protecting the public interest, supporting economic growth in Ontario and:

We support compliant businesses by streamlining compliance activities and adopting a risk-based approach to inspections to prioritize the most important regulatory issues. Our commitment to consistency, transparency and evidence-based decision-making will help businesses meet their regulatory requirements and allow them to focus on creating jobs, scaling up and staying competitive.

We all have a role to play in protecting the things that matter to Ontarians. By working together, we can all be more effective and efficient in achieving positive outcomes for Ontario’s people, environment and economy.

We can improve compliance and protect the public interest better through a greater focus on clear, targeted and simple communications.

We are committed to the continuous improvement of our regulatory approaches to ensure we remain efficient and effective in achieving our outcomes. To achieve the best results, we:

By working together and following the Code, our aim is to improve compliance outcomes and support economic growth for a safer, healthier Ontario. To ensure the Code remains relevant, we share information on how we are applying its principles and the outcomes we are achieving. We recognize staff, teams and organizations that demonstrate excellence in applying the principles outlined in the Code. We also monitor feedback to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

By following these principles, we demonstrate our commitment to professional service and to regulatory delivery excellence.

Using a risk-based approach supports greater consistency across Ontario regulators and allows for effective resource allocation, resulting in improved protection.