Daily Workplace Wrap-up On COVID-19 For April 23, 2020

• Published date: 05 May 2020
• Author: Labour, Employment & Human Rights Practice
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Health & Safety, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations, Government Measures, Employment and Workforce Wellbeing
• Law Firm: Fasken

Below are the key government announcements made on April 23, 2020 that touch on workplace issues. Our daily and weekend overviews of previous government announcements, employment analyses and other COVID-19 information are available here.

The Federal Government

Prime Minister Trudeau announced more than $1-billion in support for a national medical research strategy to fight COVID-19 that includes vaccine development, the production of treatments, and tracking of the virus.

Alberta

The Chief Medical Officer of Health announced that the prohibition against gatherings of more than 15 people, pursuant to CMOH Order 07-2020(PDF), will remain in place all summer. As a result of this restriction, many summer events and festivals across Alberta will not be permitted. Following the announcement, the Calgary Stampede and the City of Calgary announced that for the first time in the event's 97 year history, this year's Calgary Stampede is cancelled.

The Chief Medical Officer of Heath also announced that the operation of CMOH Order 10-2020(PDF), which restricts health care workers from working at more than one health care facility, has been temporarily suspended. The temporary suspension is to provide the Ministry of Health more time to inform employers and employees on the scope of the order.

British Columbia

The Provincial Health Officer published an Order (PDF) for employers in the forestry, agriculture, and aquamarine industries that operate industrial camps. Pursuant to the Order, applicable employers must:

• develop a COVID-19 infection prevention and control protocol, and make the protocol available to employees and provincial infection prevention and control officers;
• maintain "high levels of accommodation, worksite and worker hygiene" in industrial camps and provide for a rapid response if workers develop symptoms of COVID-19;
• prevent workers who exhibit symptoms from attending work, and ensure that symptomatic workers self-isolate;
• appoint a person as a COVID-19 coordinator, who will be responsible for, among other things acting as a liaison between the employer, health officers, and provincial infection control officers, and who must
  • oversee implementation of the employer's COVID-19 infection prevention and control protocol and
  • monitor workers for symptoms of COVID-19.

Manitoba

No major government updates as of 5:00 p.m. E.D.T. on April 23, 2020.

New Brunswick

The government announced that it will present a COVID-19 recovery plan for the province in...