Does your dealership or garage have 20 or more workers? A prevention program is mandatory.
Since October 1, 2025, Quebec's Regulation respecting prevention and participation mechanisms (RMPPE) applies to every establishment in the province — dealerships and garages included. Full compliance is required by October 1, 2026.
And in automotive, the 20-worker threshold arrives faster than you'd think: part-time staff count. A service bay, a sales team, the parts counter, detailing and tire-season reinforcements are often enough to push an establishment into the higher tier.
What the law requires based on your headcount
19 workers or fewer per establishment:
- An action plan (risk identification and measures)
- A health and safety liaison officer (ALSS)
20 workers or more per establishment:
- A written prevention program, updated annually
- A health and safety committee (employer and worker representatives)
- A health and safety representative (HSR) designated by the workers
The tier is calculated per establishment, not per group. A 35-worker dealership and a 14-worker service point: a full prevention program for the first, an action plan for the second.
Dealership and garage risks, across the RMPPE's 6 categories
Your program must cover six risk categories. Between the shop, the showroom and detailing, every one of them fills up:
- Physical — pneumatic tool noise, vibration, hot parts and surfaces, drafts from service doors, slippery floors (oils, melting ice)
- Chemical — carbon monoxide from exhaust in the shop, solvents and degreasers (WHMIS), used oils, brake dust, battery acid, detailing products
- Biological — hygiene of shared areas and handled vehicles, possible exposure during first aid
- Ergonomic — postures under vehicles, handling tires and heavy parts, repetitive detailing motions, prolonged standing on the sales floor
- Psychosocial — sales-target pressure, harassment, customer incivility and disputes (service, billing), seasonal peaks, exposure to domestic or family violence
- Safety — vehicle lifts, moving vehicles and pedestrian-vehicle traffic, road tests, pneumatic tools, compressed gases, body work
"We already follow the Auto Prévention guides"
Great instinct — and it's not the same thing. Sector guides are references; the law requires your program: your establishment's risks, your measures, your committee that actually meets, your trained HSR, your maintained registers, your annual update. A guide can't be handed to an inspector; a dated, versioned program can. Reeval turns good references into a living system — yours.
What a non-compliant establishment risks
The CNESST can request your prevention program during any intervention — a planned visit, a worker complaint or an accident. Under the AOHS, a corporation faces a fine of $2,115 to $4,226 for a first offense, and up to $84,519 where a worker's health, safety or physical integrity is compromised. These amounts are indexed every year and climb sharply for repeat offenses.
The fine isn't the real cost, though. The real cost is a shop accident documented nowhere, an empty register in front of an inspector, and a due-diligence defense that can't be made.
Source: CNESST, Cadre d'émission des constats d'infraction, Annex 2 “Guide des sentences”, legal person — 2026 indexed amounts.
Where to start
Answer 10 questions about your establishment. The diagnostic gives you:
- your exact tier (action plan or prevention program)
- your top 3 priority gaps
- your fine exposure at the 2026 indexed amounts