The provincial government is giving more information to businesses on what they should be doing to ensure they will be ready to open once it’s deemed safe to do so.
Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton says they’ve provided guidelines that are specific to each industry.
“We would anticipate that businesses would follow these best practices and that our inspectors would be out proactively communicating how to implement them and at some point enforcing some of the measures in the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” McNaughton said.
The government safety guidelines released today will provide direction to those working in manufacturing, food manufacturing and processing, restaurant and foodservice, and the agricultural sector. These measures build on more than 60 guidelines developed by Ontario’s health and safety associations in response to COVID-19 for various sectors such as retail, health care, construction, transportation, police services, firefighters, and transit employees.
These new sector-specific guidelines feature recommended actions employers can begin to plan for as they prepare to adapt to the new reality during COVID-19, including:
Ways to ensure appropriate physical distancing, like eliminating pay-at-the-door options, holding team meetings outdoors, staggering shift times and using ground markings and barriers to manage traffic flow.
Changes to the workplace, like installing plexiglass barriers, increasing the air intake on building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to increase airflow, and using boot sanitizing trays.
Promoting proper workplace sanitation, providing personal protective equipment, substituting dry dusting with vacuuming, ensuring customer-facing staff are given hand sanitizer, providing a place to dispose of sanitizing wipes, and enforcing handwashing before and after breaks.
Starting this week, 58 new inspectors will join the hundreds of existing provincial labour inspectors on the ground.
