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COVID-19 Updates | Daily Workplace Round Up for April 16, 2020

COVID-19 Resources for Small Business
Sarah Visca | Apr 16, 2020

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Below are the key announcements from the Federal, Ontario, Alberta and BC governments that touch on workplace issues for April 16, 2020. 

Federal

Prime Minister Announces Additional Support for Small Business

Justin Trudeau announced today new measures to support Canadian businesses. The Government of Canada is: 

  • Expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to businesses that paid between $20,000 and $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019.
    • This new range will replace the previous one of between $50,000 and $1 million, and will help address the challenges faced by small businesses to cover non-deferrable operating costs. 
  • Announcing its intent to introduce the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses.
    • The program will seek to provide loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial property owners who in turn will lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May, and June.

Read the official news release from the Prime Minister.

COVID-19 Guidance for High-Risk and Essential Workplaces

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has developed a series of pandemic guidance tip sheets that offer guidance and best practices for specific occupations, industries and services, for both employers and workers. 

Currently, tip sheets are provided for industries and services such as construction, correctional services, daycares, healthcare, mining, retail, and transportation. Many more are available on the website, with new material being added soon.

These pandemic (COVID-19) tip sheets can be downloaded for free on the CCOHS website.

News! Trudeau says Canada-U.S. border restrictions will stay in place for some time

Today, Justin Trudeau stated that Canada is still a long way from being ready to agree to relax mutual travel restrictions along its border with the United States.

It’s been nearly a month since the two countries negotiated their 30-day ban on non-essential travel in both directions, an agreement that exempted the flow of trade and commerce, as well as vital health care workers like nurses who live and work on opposite sides of the border.

Read more about the news story here.

Ontario

Ontario Enables Auto Insurance Companies to Provide Driver Rebates during COVID-19

Ontario is enabling auto insurance companies to provide temporary insurance premium rebates to drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province has amended a regulation under the Insurance Act to help ease the financial pressure on working people and families during this public health crisis.

Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to remove existing restrictions on rebating so auto insurers can provide additional consumer relief.

Learn more from Ontario’s official news source.

News! Ontario adds more than 2,000 acute care and critical care beds and enacts pandemic staffing plans

The Ontario government has significantly expanded hospital capacity in preparation for any COVID-19 outbreak scenario.

This bed capacity expansion has been organized in coordination with pandemic staffing plans to ensure each hospital has the physicians and staff needed in the case of a major surge in patients. 

Measures include:

  • Redeploying surgical nursing staff who can now work with medicine units;
  • Sharing highly trained emergency department and intensive care unit nursing staffs across units;
  • Sharing physician resources across hospitals in a given region;
  • Recruiting family doctors to complete shifts within the hospital; and
  • Recruiting retirees, including nursing and support services.

Learn more from Ontario’s official news source.

Alberta

Alberta Develops a Response Plan to Protect Workers in the Essential Food Industry

The government of Alberta has developed a plan to respond to confirmed cases of COVID-19 in food processing plants.

In Alberta, facilities already have very strict sanitation protocols and practices, but this new response plan will protect workers, while ensuring limited impact on the essential food supply during the pandemic.

 In response to COVID-19, food processors must:

  • implement measures to prevent the spread of infection, including all recommended mitigation and cleaning requirements and adjustments to their work schedules
  • continue to implement enhancements to ensure staff and products are safe as they move products into the supply chain

Learn more from Alberta’s official news release.

News! Personal protective equipment is reaching Albertans

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is reaching Albertans across the province as the government continues acquiring and distributing gear amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alberta’s official news release provides details on who has received PPE so far. 

British Columbia

BC Provides Enhanced Relief for Businesses and Local Governments

To support B.C. businesses, non-profits and other organizations through the COVID-19 pandemic, the province will provide relief by:

  • further reducing the school property tax rate for commercial properties to achieve an average 25% reduction in the total property tax bill for most businesses, providing up to $700 million in relief. 
  • Postponing the date that late payment penalties apply for commercial properties in classes 4,5,6,7 and 8 to Oct. 1, 2020, to give businesses and landlords more time to pay their reduced property tax, without penalty.

The province is also addressing concerns from local governments in regards to cash flow and revenue shortfalls.

New measures and additional support can be found in BC’s official news release. 

Province Launches a new COVID-19 Support Service for B.C. Businesses

The B.C. Business COVID-19 Support Service will act as a one-stop resource to answer questions about supports available to businesses from the provincial and federal governments, industry and community partners. 

The service will be operated by the non-profit organization, Small Business BC (SBBC).

Starting Thursday, April 16, 2020, advisors are available Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST) and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Inquiries can be received by:

Learn more from BC’s official news release. 

News! Free counselling service launches for post-secondary students

BC has launched Here2Talk, a new mental-health counselling and referral service for post-secondary students.

The service offers confidential, free single-session services by app, phone or online chat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Learn more from BC’s official news release.

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Sarah Visca
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.