The Government of Ontario yesterday introduced its plan to address some of the issues facing the province’s health care system. It also tabled Bill 7 – More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022 for first reading in the Ontario Legislature.
The Act will “amend the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 with respect to patients requiring an alternate level of care and other matters and to make a consequential amendment to the Health Care Consent Act, 1996.”
While not strictly an employment and labour law matter, it is an important issue that affects all Ontarians, and I thought you might be interested in having access to the full announcement, plan and Bill.
Click »» here to read the full News Release.
The government plan can be viewed online here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/plan-stay-open-health-system-stability-and-recovery
The Plan can also be downloaded as a pdf: https://files.ontario.ca/moh-plan-to-stay-open-en-2022-08-18.pdf
Bill 7 can be viewed here: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-7
To provide some context, I you may also wish to read this overview and analysis of the plan and Bill from Sussex Strategy Group. Sussex has long and deep experience in government relations and public policy and has kindly allowed me to share their observations with you. I always find their perspectives well thought out and informative. I hope you will also.
Please contact me with any employment questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.
Monthly Archives: August 2022
Ontario Speech From the Throne
August 10, 2022
Yesterday Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell delivered the Speech From the Throne to begin the province’s 43rd parliament.
The full text of the Speech can be found in the News section of the Ontario Government website: https://news.ontario.ca/en/speech/1002230/together-lets-build-ontario
One of my clients, Sussex Strategy Group, has kindly allowed me to share with you their analysis of the Speech and the government’s plans for the next year.
Sussex is an experienced and highly respected government relations firm that offers strategic and consulting services. I find their analyses informative and insightful, and I hope you will also.
As always, please contact me with any employment questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.
Ontario Legislature Returns with the Speech from The Throne and the Re-Introduction of the 2022 Budget
Following the June election, the Ontario Legislature officially returned yesterday to complete their first order of business, re-electing Ted Arnott as Speaker.
With the Speaker elected, Elizabeth Dowdeswell – Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – was able to deliver the Speech From the Throne this afternoon, signifying the official start of the 43rd provincial parliament. The Speech provides a glimpse of the Ford government’s priorities for this legislative session.
Speech From the Throne
The themes in this afternoon’s Speech From the Throne were foreshadowed in the PC’s pre-election budget, “Ontario’s Plan to Build” which ultimately served as the government’s successful campaign platform.
Titled “Together, Let’s Build Ontario”, today’s Speech reiterates how building highways, homes, and other major infrastructure projects in Ontario will improve gridlock, allow home ownership to become more attainable, and create the transit-oriented communities needed to support economic growth across the province. In other words, the Speech reiterated the commitments made during the unveiling of the Spring budget.
Click here »» to read the full Sussex Strategy Group analysis and update
Guidance on monkeypox and the workplace
August 8, 2022
After two and a half years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic I am sure the last thing you want to think about right now is another health issue. However, after speaking with a number of my clients in the public health field, I think it is prudent for you to be aware of the current monkeypox situation and understand that there is a possibility it could be contracted by one of your employees or someone close to them.
Overview
The first thing to know is that this is not a pandemic. Nor has it been declared an epidemic in Canada. On July 23 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that ‘the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)’.
The WHO defines a PHEIC as ‘an extraordinary event, which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response’.
Here at home, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) noted on the same day that there were 681 confirmed cases across five provinces and that monkeypox cases are “expected to continue to rise as the outbreak evolves”. There are now 957 cases across the country with 449 in Ontario.
For perspective, when the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March of 2020 there were 113,000 cases outside China – 13 times as many as two weeks before – and the number of affected countries had tripled from 36 to 114 in the same time period. The most recent weekly figures for COVID-19 in Canada show 28,596 cases for the week of July 24 to July 30, 2022 with 11,341 of these in Ontario.
Monkeypox in Canada
While this monkeypox outbreak is not a pandemic, the virus is obviously no longer confined to countries in Central Africa.
The symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but less severe than smallpox. The case fatality ratio of monkeypox in recent times is 3–6 per cent.
Health Canada advises that monkeypox can spread from person to person through
- contact with an infected person’s lesions or scabs
- contact with an infected person’s body fluids such as blood, saliva, and semen
An infected pregnant person may also pass on the virus to their developing fetus through the placenta.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) adds that infection may also spread through touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids.
Information is still being gathered on whether an infected person with no symptoms can spread the virus to others and if the virus can spread through respiratory particles, such as from talking, breathing, coughing or sneezing, during close contact.
People at potentially heightened risk of infection include health-care workers, commercial sex workers, and household members and other close contacts of active cases, such as sexual partners.
While monkeypox is extremely painful, most people recover on their own after a few weeks. There is an existing, approved vaccine as well as therapeutic treatments for monkeypox. Supplies are limited at this time but all levels of government are working to secure further inventory. Because of the current supply situation governments are appropriately prioritizing vaccines for those populations currently deemed to be at higher risk.
More information and updated case figures can be found on the Government of Canada web page: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/monkeypox.html
For employers
Since the monkeypox virus may be spread through a variety of activities that are not limited to any particular segment of society, anyone can contract the monkeypox virus.
It is unlikely, but possible, that a case of monkeypox could effect one of your employees or one of their family members or close contacts.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) employers have a general duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.
Lessons can be learned form the COVID-19 experience to mitigate the possibility of spread and maintain the safety of everyone in your workplace.
Some appropriate steps would be to:
- inform employees of the causes of monkeypox and risk of contracting the virus.
- This general information page is available on the Government of Canada website:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/monkeypox/risks.html
- This general information page is available on the Government of Canada website:
- remind employees of respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene, including covering coughs and sneezes with the bend of one’s arm or wearing a well-fitted mask;
- perform routine environmental cleaning, including cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and objects;
- consider limiting business travel to certain countries or regions;
- advise employees before travelling to take steps such as reporting their travel locations to their employer;
- encourage employees who are sick to stay home
- Swollen lymph nodes are a symptom of monkeypox, but other symptoms may include fever, chills, headache, muscle and joint pain and exhaustion.
- People usually develop symptoms 5 to 21 days after being exposed to the monkeypox virus
In the case of monkeypox infection or suspected infection
Unfortunately, there has been some stigmatization of people who have contracted the monkeypox virus and this may result in employees being hesitant to disclose information about themselves or their friends or family members.
To help ensure the safety of your workplace you should:
- encourage employees to inform you if they are undergoing testing for monkeypox, particularly if there has been contact with others at the workplace and
- encourage employees to inform you if they have a sick family member at home with monkeypox
As with all disclosures of personal medical information you should also assure employees that all information is confidential.
If an employee shows up ill
Employees who show up in the workplace appearing to have symptoms should be separated from other employees and/or, if appropriate, sent home without delay.
If employee informs you that s/he or a family member at home is undergoing testing for monkeypox.
You should exercise reasonable precautions to assure the safety of other workers and of the workplace in general. Assessing the risk will include considering whether the employee is in close contact with other workers.
It may be reasonable to require the employee to undergo testing for monkeypox if this is recommended by public health officials. You can find your local Public Health Unit on this Government of Ontario web page:
https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/system/services/phu/locations.aspx
If an employee refuses to work because of safety concern
As with COVID-19, this will be a case-by-case determination. In these cases, key legal considerations for employers will be occupational health and safety legislation, employment standards legislation and public health guidance from reputable sources.
I hope you find this information helpful. Please contact me for assistance working through your staffing matters.
Policy on electronic monitoring to be in place by October 11, 2022
August 3, 2022
Policy applies to employers of more than 25 people in Ontario
As I advised on February 24, the government of Ontario announced the introduction of a requirement for employers of more than 25 people to tell their workers if and how they are being monitored electronically.
The requirement was added to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) on April 11, 2022 and the government has now provided guidance for employers.
This requirement applies only to businesses and organizations that employ 25 or more employees in Ontario on January 1 of any year.
For those organizations with 25 or more Ontario employees on January 1, 2022 there is a special rule that applies in this first year for a written policy on the electronic monitoring of employees to be in place by October 11, 2022.
A copy of the policy must be provided to employees within 30 calendar days of being prepared or revised, and if the employee is a new hire, within 30 days of hire.
Determining number of employees
The number of employees is the number employed in Ontario on January 1, 2022.
The employer must count the individual number of employees, not the number of “full-time equivalents.” Part-time employees and casual employees each count as one employee, regardless of the number of hours they work.
Where an employer has multiple locations, all employees employed at each location in Ontario must be included when determining whether the 25 employee threshold has been met.
If your business or organization does meet this 25 employee threshold, or you believe is close to the threshold, the full guidance for the definition of “employee” for these purposes can be found on this page of the government of Ontario website:
General guidance
The policy should apply to all employees though different provisions may apply to different employees if desired.
The policy must include:
- A statement on whether an employer engages in electronic monitory of employees or if an employer does not electronically monitor employees, the policy must specifically state this;
- A description of how and in what circumstances an employer may electronically monitor employees;
- The purposes for which the information obtained through electronic monitoring may be used by an employer;
- The date the policy was prepared; and
- The date any changes were made to the policy.
The requirement to introduce the policy does not establish a right for employees not to be electronically monitored by their employer, nor does it create any new privacy rights for employees.
The policy does not affect or limit an employer’s ability to use information obtained through the electronic monitoring of its employees in any way it sees fit. An employer is required to state in its written policy the purposes for which it may use information obtained through electronic monitoring.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Please contact me if you have questions about whether the number of employees in your organization meets the threshold, or for assistance or further details on the drafting and implementation of the required policy.