Much like when Toronto Police instituted special enforcement teams to crack down on illicit social gatherings during the worst of pandemic lockdown — and boy, there were a lot of gatherings — the Province of Ontario is ramping up its occupational health and safety force to ensure businesses are abiding by new COVID-19 protocols, including the vaccine passport.

The government announced on Monday that it has brought in more than 100 new inspectors to dispatch primarily to construction, industrial and healthcare settings, where they will check that people are adequately following the rules, and educate owners and employees when need be.

As part of the education, a new online tool is also now available for any and all businesses to form and update their mandatory COVID safety plans and make certain they aren't in contravention of any provincial directives under the Reopening Ontario Act.

The additions make for 507 inspectors total, the most in Ontario history, all thanks to the health crisis and the new regulations it's necessitated in various workplaces.

According to the province, over the course of the pandemic there have been 65,000 COVID-related workplace inspections in Ontario, resulting in 79,200 orders and 102 times instances of work stoppage.

"Data from the most recent visits, conducted over the summer, shows the education assistance provided by inspectors helped double the number of businesses who were fully compliant with their responsibilities under the Act," reads the statement on the subject.