Province restricts travel within Canada
Earlier today, premier Brian Pallister announced changes to the current public health order which will restrict travel within Canada. Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, January 29, anyone arriving in Manitoba from another province must self-isolate for 14 days. This change is in response to the growing number of COVID-19 variants that officials have seen emerge in the past weeks.
While this has been the case for most of Eastern Canada for some time, it now applies to the entire country, with exceptions made for border communities.
There are several exceptions for construction:
From the province:
“Out-of-province workers arriving in Manitoba are required to self-isolate for 14-days upon their arrival UNLESS they are not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 and they are providing vital services. This includes (emphasis ours):
- workers such as health care providers
- police and correctional officers
- national defence personnel
- persons responsible for construction or maintenance of water control works, highways, bridges, hydro-electric generating stations and electrical infrastructure, waste water treatment and sewage facilities and telephone and Internet services
In addition, individuals engaged in the construction or maintenance of any building, structure or other project, are also exempt if the failure to complete the construction or maintenance on a timely basis would pose a threat to persons, property or the environment if they are not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19.
It is the responsibility of, the employer to determine if it is absolutely necessary for the worker to immediately begin work upon entering Manitoba (e.g. no one else is available to perform their function) and to implement appropriate workplace health and safety measures in the workplace. Employers should consult with occupational health or Workplace Safety and Health prior to their arrival to ensure appropriate steps are taken to mitigate the potential risk to others in the workplace.”
WCA will continue to monitor the situation and will advise our members of any changes. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions to our COVID-19 hotline at covid19@winnipegconstruction.ca.