COVID-19: Weekend round up on Federal, Ontario, Alberta & BC Updates | March 30, 2020
Over the weekend, the Federal Government and provinces of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia announced the following measures:
Federal
Government of Canada Announces New Domestic Transportation Measures
On March 28, the Government of Canada announced that it's introducing new domestic transportation measures that come into effect today, March 30 to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spreading from travel within Canada.
These measures for air transportation include:
- A requirement for all air operators to conduct a health check of travelers before they board a flight within Canada or departing from Canada, based on guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- A requirement for air operators to refuse boarding to a passenger that presents COVID-19 symptoms.
- A requirement for air operators to notify travelers that they may be subject to provincial or territorial measures at their destination.
See this news release for further details (Rail transportation measures included)
Ontario
Proclaims the Supply Chain Management Act
On March 28, Ontario proclaims the Supply Chain Management Act to make sure the province can deploy critical supplies, equipment and services needed to fight against COVID-19, such as ventilators, masks and swabs.
For more information, check this news release from the Ontario’s official news source.
Restricts Gatherings to Five People
On March 28, the Ontario government issued a new emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to prohibit any social gatherings or public events of more than five people. This order is effective immediately, but does not apply to:
- Private households with five people or more
- Operating childcare centres supporting frontline health care workers and first responders
Organized public events include parades, weddings, social gatherings and communal services within places of worship. Funerals are permitted to take place with up to 10 people at once.
For more information, check this news release from Ontario’s official news source.
Enforces Strict Penalties to Combat Price Gouging
On March 28, Premier Doug Ford announced an emergency order that retail businesses and individuals in Ontario are not allowed to charge unfair prices for necessary goods.
Necessary goods include:
- Masks and gloves used as personal protective equipment in relation to infections.
- Non-prescription medications for the treatment of the symptoms of the coronavirus.
- Disinfecting agents intended for cleaning and disinfecting objects or humans.
- Personal hygiene products, including soap products and paper products.
Effective immediately, if convicted, a company director or officer could face a fine of up to $500,000 and up to a year in jail, and a corporation could face a fine of up to $10 million.
For more information on the penalties, and how to report an individual who is price gouging, check this news release from Ontario’s official news source.
Increases Measures to Limit the Spread of COVID-19 on Construction Sites
On March 29, Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer announced an updated version of the initial guidance document addressing employer responsibilities on construction sites. The updated guidelines include:
- providing better on-site sanitation, including a focus on high-touch areas like site trailers, door handles and hoists
- communicating roles, responsibilities, and health & safety policies, by, for example, posting site sanitization schedules and work schedules
- enabling greater distances between workers by staggering shifts, restricting site numbers and limiting elevator usage
- protecting public health by tracking and monitoring workers
Failure to follow these updated regulations and comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act could result in a stop work order.
Read the Chief Prevention Officer’s guidance to the construction sector on health & safety in regard to COVID-19.
Alberta
Releases List of Essential Services, Ordering Immediate Closure of Non-Essential Businesses
On March 27, Alberta’s government provided a full list of essential services that can continue to provide services while ensuring proper risk mitigation measures are in place.
According to the Alberta Government, non-essential businesses include:
- gift, hobby, antique and specialty stores;
- non-essential health and beauty care providers;
- clothing stores that sell mens’, ladies’ and children’s wear as well as unisex, lingerie and maternity wear, shoes, bridal wear, jewelry and accessories; and
- retail stores that sell luggage, art and framing supplies, computers and gaming equipment, toys, photos, music, books, and sporting goods.
Note that non-essential business may choose to offer their products and services online if possible.
British Columbia
Publishes a List of Essential Services
The province has defined essential services that British Columbians rely on in their daily lives in the context of COVID-19.
Any business or service that has not been ordered to close already, and that is not identified on the essential services list, may only stay open if it can adapt its services and workplaces to the orders and recommendations of the provincial health order.
Essential services are those daily services essential to preserving life, health, public safety and basic societal functioning and include services in these areas:
- Health and health services;
- Law enforcement, public safety, first responders, emergency response personnel;
- Vulnerable population service providers;
- Critical infrastructure service providers;
- Food and agriculture service providers;
- Transportation, infrastructure and manufacturing;
- Sanitation; and
- Communications, information sharing and information technology (IT).
A list of essential services can be found in the backgrounder to this press release.
Releases Guidance to Retail Food & Grocery Stores
While the provincial health officer has issued an order under the Public Health Act prohibiting gathering of more than 50 people, it has been clarified that this order does not directly apply to the retail food and grocery industry given that the following key considerations are maintained:
- enhancement of the premises’ sanitation plan and schedule, and ensuring staff are practicing proper hygiene;
- placement of hand sanitizer with a minimum of 60% ethyl alcohol in dispensers near doors, pay stations and other high-touch locations for customer and staff use;
- washrooms well stocked with liquid soap, paper towels, and warm running water;
- clean carry-out bags for purchased food and grocery products (customers cannot use their own reusable bags or containers);
- cones or tape markers in place every two metres to provide customers with visible queues that support physical distancing;
- the use of physical queue-line controls, such as crowd control cordons at entrances and in check-out lines outside the stores;
- no selling of bulk items, except via gravity feed bins or where staff dispense the bulk items; and
- anyone with COVID-19-like symptoms, such as sore throat, fever, sneezing or coughing, must self-isolate at home for 14 days.
Click here for the official & complete list of guidelines providing guidance to the retail food and grocery store sector.
Enables Broader Use of Tech in COVID-19 Response
BC’s privacy laws require the personal information of its citizens to be stored in and only accessed from within Canada.
A new ministerial order under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act temporarily permits healthcare authorities to use communication and collaboration tools that may host information outside of Canada in order to access vital software and technology that can help fight COVID-19.
The order is in effect until June 30, 2020, but may be rescinded or renewed depending on the pandemic landscape.
See the new ministerial order here.
Read this news release from BC’s official news source.
Sarah Visca is the Operations Manager at ConnectsUs HR, a company that provides tools & resources to quickly set up a Human Resources department.
You can contact her here.
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