Health
What happens if your employer tells you to stay home due to COVID-19? – CTV News
TORONTO —
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, Canadian companies are reviewing policies around employee travel and when to stop them coming into the workplace, in a bid to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
The move has triggered questions around workers’ rights in these scenarios and how employees can recoup lost wages.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” employment law expert Daniel Lublin told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.
“In the current context of what we’re experiencing with the potential outbreak, employers are within their rights to ensure that any employee who has symptoms of coronavirus, has travelled to an infected area or been in close personal contact with someone who’s been to an infected area is prevented from attending the workplace and possibly infecting the other employees. “
Some Canadian employers are already telling staff planning overseas trips to self-quarantine for weeks upon return to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Manulife Financial Corp. has told employees who have been to China, South Korea, Iran and Italy to isolate themselves for 14 days, according to The Canadian Press.
Meanwhile, Home Depot of Canada has stopped all employee travel to and from Asia and Italy until further notice and any employees who have returned from either place in the last two weeks are being told to stay home for two weeks before returning to work.
“When this becomes a problem from a legal perspective is when employers overreach and cross the line and start to stereotype or target certain employees based on race, religious background, ethnicity or place of origin,” Lublin said.
“When questions are designed to identify information from certain groups of people, that can be discriminatory.”
Lublin said in the current circumstances, employers have much more leeway to ensure the health and safety of employees.
“It would be a problem if certain individuals are targeted, sent home, asked not to attend the workplace or even forced to work remotely if they have no possible basis of infecting anybody else in the workplace,” he said.
Sick employees are not entitled to salary and lost wages from their employer, but there are mechanisms to recover some pay if unable to work, Lublin said.
“There’s employment insurance, sometimes there’s sick leave pay, disability insurance,” Lublin said.
“We saw with the SARS outbreak that health and safety workers were able to claim workplace safety and insurance compensation, so there can be some means to try to recover pay, but it doesn’t necessarily come directly from the employer.”
Meanwhile, in the U.K. self-isolating workers will get statutory sick pay from the first day off work, rather than the fourth, to help contain the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. The emergency legislation means people will receive an extra £40, or around C$68.
Employees in Canada who don’t feel safe going into an office have a reasonable right to refuse unsafe work conditions if there’s a likelihood of infection, Lublin explained.
“If somebody is unreasonably refusing to work because of the potential of catching coronavirus when there is no basis for that, that would be unreasonable,” he said.
“But for someone on the frontlines, for example take someone in a high contact situation with a high volume of travellers, if there’s an outbreak in Canada, work refusal may very well be reasonable.”
The federal government has issued travel advisories for several countries where COVID-19 has posed an especially serious problem.
Canadians are urged to avoid all non-essential travel to China and completely avoid all travel to Hubei province, where the outbreak originated.
Canada already had significant travel advisories in place for Iran, which was the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths outside of China. The government said this week that the new coronavirus is another reason to skip non-essential trips to Iran.
An advisory for northern Italy, which was issued Monday morning, is the latest in the series of recommendations, which also covers Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
As of Wednesday morning, Canada had 33 cases of the virus, 20 in Ontario, 12 in British Columbia and one in Quebec.
– With files from CTV’s Ryan Flanagan and The Canadian Press
Health
CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture
The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.
Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.
The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.
Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.
As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.
This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.
Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.
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Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.
By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.
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Health
Cancer Awareness Month – Métis Nation of Alberta
Cancer Awareness Month
Posted on: Apr 18, 2024
April is Cancer Awareness Month
As we recognize Cancer Awareness Month, we stand together to raise awareness, support those affected, advocate for prevention, early detection, and continued research towards a cure. Cancer is the leading cause of death for Métis women and the second leading cause of death for Métis men. The Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation Within Alberta is working hard to ensure that available supports for Métis Citizens battling cancer are culturally appropriate, comprehensive, and accessible by Métis Albertans at all stages of their cancer journey.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis, whether for yourself or a loved one, can feel overwhelming, leaving you unsure of where to turn for support. In June, our government will be launching the Cancer Supports and Navigation Program which will further support Métis Albertans and their families experiencing cancer by connecting them to OMG-specific cancer resources, external resources, and providing navigation support through the health care system. This program will also include Métis-specific peer support groups for those affected by cancer.
With funding from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) we have also developed the Métis Cancer Care Course to ensure that Métis Albertans have access to culturally safe and appropriate cancer services. This course is available to cancer care professionals across the country and provides an overview of who Métis people are, our culture, our approaches to health and wellbeing, our experiences with cancer care, and our cancer journey.
Together, we can make a difference in the fight against cancer and ensure equitable access to culturally safe and appropriate care for all Métis Albertans. Please click on the links below to learn more about the supports available for Métis Albertans, including our Compassionate Care: Cancer Transportation program.
I wish you all good health and happiness!
Bobbi Paul-Alook
Secretary of Health & Seniors
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