health and safety associations, such as the Manufacturing Safety
Alliance of BC, for guidance. “They are funded by the premiums
employers pay. They have a number of consultants who can come
out and do safety audits, conduct onsite safety inspections and
help employers create or improve health and safety programs,”
he said.
How COVID-19 has changed health and safety in
the workplace
By late March, most provinces had declared a state of emergency,
closing provincial borders to non-essential travel and shutting
down schools and non-essential businesses in an effort to
flatten the curve. When reopening started in May, it was not
business as usual. Businesses were required to implement
protocols that minimized the risk of employees and customers
contracting COVID-19.
Across the country, there have been inspections and fines.
In Ottawa, two restaurants in the ByWard Market were recently
fined for failure to comply with an order that mandates physical
distancing under Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil
Protection Act.
Many bars and lounges have been fined in Winnipeg, Man.,
for failure to comply with COVID-19 health orders. One Winnipeg
lounge faces $10,000 in fines for allegedly breaking public health
orders a second time.
Taras Manzie, president and CEO of Lake of the Woods
Brewing Company (LOWBREWCO), and his team has gone to
great lengths to ensure they understand the applicable sections
in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), as well as
the directives from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the
Ministry of Health.
LOWBREWCO has been onside with COVID-19 health
directives and they plan on keeping it that way. “In both the
taproom and retail, we have had to make significant changes
to protect our staff and our guests,” said Manzie. “All staff and
guests in public areas are required to wear masks 100 per cent
of the time. When the guests reach their table and sit down, they
are permitted to remove masks for dining and drinking. If they
need to get up to use the washroom, masks must be re-donned.”
Although masks are not mandatory in Canada, an increasing
number of businesses have implemented a “no mask, no service”
H E A LT H & S A F E T Y
blanket policy. In major centres, there is an uptick in mandates
to wear masks. On August 1, the City of Calgary’s Face Covering
Bylaw went into effect which requires the wearing of face
coverings or masks in indoor public areas and public vehicles.
Hand hygiene is here to stay. Even before the pandemic,
many retailers and businesses had hand-sanitizing dispensers
available for employees and patrons. Now they are ubiquitous.
“We have multiple points of presence for both guests and staff
to use our house-made hand sanitizer, and we have our Health
Canada NPN (natural product number) for both our formulations,”
said Manzie. “In our taproom and retail outlets, we use our 75 per
cent strength isopropyl formulation – and urge everyone to use
it often.”
When inspectors show up, business owners are expected to
produce their COVID-19 plan and demonstrate that it has been
implemented. That will not be a problem for LOWBREWCO.
“We have created a procedures document to accompany
our Policies and Procedures manual that has been issued to all
staff. As many staff who can work from home do, and we have
instituted flex hours and work-from-home policies where
possible,” Manzie said. “The health of our staff and our guests is
of the utmost priority. It’s the only way we will be able to keep the
doors open and move forward.”
Most business owners and corporations echo that sentiment
and have put COVID-19 protocols in place to mitigate risk. The
message from all levels of government and employers is if an
employee or customer feels unwell, stay home. Take a COVID-19
self-assessment test and get tested if symptoms match.
If there is an outbreak in the workplace, report it to the
local health authorities immediately. “It is really critical to notify
the health authority so they can begin contact tracing,” Nielsen
said. As many health ministers have pointed out, it’s not about
shaming, it’s about containing.
Resources
Beer Canada:
www.industry.beercanada.com/information-covid-19
Canadian Centre for Occupational and Safety:
www.ccohs.ca
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters:
www.cme-mec.ca/coronavirus-covid-19-resources/
FALL 2020 § POURED CANADA § 45
/information-covid-19
/www.ccohs.ca
/
