‘Nobody should lose their job’: Ontario to protect workers during COVID-19

The Doug Ford government will be introducing legislation to protect Ontario’s workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a news conference on Monday, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said the legislation will amend the Employment Standards Act.

McNaughton said the legislation would apply to employees under investigation, supervision or treatment for COVID-19, workers in isolation or in quarantine, and those who need to provide care to a person for a reason related to COVID-19, including for a school or daycare closure.

Employees would also not be required to provide a medical note if they have to take leave from work.

“Nobody should lose their job because they are following the best available medical advice,” McNaughton said.

This measure would be retroactive to Jan. 25 and will be in place until “this disease is defeated,” he said.

Ford and McNaughton were joined by Health Minister Christine Elliott, Finance Minister Rod Phillips and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams at the news conference.

“We need to support the workers affected by this,” Premier Ford said adding that people don’t need to worry about job security.

The new legislation comes as all Ontario public schools will be out of class for the next three weeks. Businesses have also begun to shut down in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Earlier in the day, the province announced more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 177.

When asked if Ontario will be locked down to stem the rise in cases, Ford said decisive action will be taken if the province’s chief medical officer of health advises it.

Ford said people don’t need to rush out to stores and panic buy and hoard essential items. He said major retailers have assured the government that the supply chain is able to handle the additional pressure.

Dr. Williams said pandemic planning is done in stages, and adjustments are made as the situation develops. He said vulnerable populations need to be protected and that the province may have to put more stringent measures in place as needed.

He said most cases so far in Ontario are related to travel, and there is no evidence of community spread right now. If community spread does occur, the government will increase social distancing measures.

“So far, ones we’ve seen when we do their complete investigation they usually have some contact with a case in the past (or have a travel history),” Dr. Williams said. “It takes some time to do that full investigation.”

Elliott said the province is not yet at the point of ordering the closure of bars and restaurants.

“If we have to do that … we will do that, but we don’t believe we’re at that stage yet,” she said. “But this is a rapidly changing situation.”

With St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, Elliott asked people to be very cautious while at any related events, especially in large gatherings.

Phillips said he’ll be putting forward a fiscal update on the day the budget was supposed to be released on March 25. The finance minister said the update will include a one-year outlook based on the current economic conditions caused by the outbreak.

Watch the full announcement below.