Face coverings are optional for people in all indoor public settings. People can continue to wear a mask based on personal choice. Individual businesses and organizations can choose to continue to require mask wearing on...more
Last May, Ontario released its Roadmap to Reopen, a three-step plan to safely and gradually reopen the province and loosen certain public health restrictions. In July, Ontario filed O. Reg. 541/21, which added a new “Roadmap...more
Ontario first released its plan to follow a cautious and phased approach to lifting COVID-19 public health and workplace safety measures on January 20, 2022. On February 14, 2022, however, Ontario announced that with key...more
2/16/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Workplace Safety
With key public health indicators beginning to show signs of improvement and expected to continue, Ontario announced on January 20, 2022, that commencing January 31, 2022, it would begin to take steps to cautiously and...more
2/1/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Workplace Safety
With key public health indicators beginning to show signs of improvement and expected to continue, Ontario announced that commencing January 31, 2022, in the absence of concerning trends, it would begin to take steps to...more
1/21/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Relief Measures ,
Seating ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
On November 10, 2021, Ontario announced that, out of an abundance of caution, it is pausing the lifting of capacity limits in the following higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required...more
11/11/2021
/ Adult Entertainment ,
Canada ,
Capacity ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Nightclubs ,
Ontario ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Safety
On October 22, 2021, Ontario announced the release of its phased plan to gradually lift all remaining public health and workplace safety measures by March 2022, as set out in A Plan to Safely Reopen Ontario and Manage...more
In July, Ontario entered Step Three of its Roadmap to Reopen, and on September 22, 2021, began to require full vaccination (two doses plus 14 days) with proof of vaccination and ID to access restaurants and certain public...more
In July, Ontario entered Step Three of its Roadmap to Reopen, and on September 22, 2021, began to require full vaccination (two doses plus 14 days) with proof of vaccination and ID to access restaurants and certain public...more
9/29/2021
/ Canada ,
Capacity ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
On July 30, 21, Ontario filed O. Reg. 541/21 (Regulation), which adds a new “Roadmap Exit Step” to the Rules for Areas at Step 3 of its Roadmap to Reopen (Roadmap). ...more
8/6/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Workplace Safety
On July 9, 2021, Ontario announced that with improvements in key indicators relating to public health and health care, and the provincewide vaccination rate surpassing targets, it will be moving all Ontario regional health...more
On June 24, 2021, Ontario announced that with improvements in key indicators relating to public health and health care, and the provincewide vaccination rate surpassing targets, it will be moving to Step Two of its Roadmap to...more
6/29/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Seating ,
Workplace Safety
Based on the provincewide vaccination rate and continuing improvements in key public health and health system indicators, Ontario has announced that it will enter Step One of the Roadmap to Reopen (Roadmap) on June 11 rather...more
On May 25, 2021, British Columbia released a four-step COVID-19 reopening plan, Restart: A plan to bring us back together. To move through the steps, British Columbia looks for...more
6/4/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On May 25, 2021, Alberta released its Open for Summer Plan (Opening Plan), which eases COVID-19 restrictions in three stages. Each stage is reached as COVID-19 vaccination targets are reached and hospitalizations decline. ...more
6/4/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Public Gatherings ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Workplace Safety
On May 20, 2021, Ontario released its long-awaited Roadmap to Reopen (Roadmap), a three-step plan to safely and gradually reopen the province and loosen certain public health restrictions. ...more
On April 23, 2021, Ontario filed Regulations 313/21, 314/21 and 315/21 under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020. The Regulations create new requirements relating to the temporary removal of...more
On January 4, 2021, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health issued Toronto Public Health Instructions for Workplaces (Instructions), addressed to “All Employers and Persons Responsible for a Business or Organization in the City...more
1/11/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Employees ,
Workplace Safety
When the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the state of the world in March 2020 and made employees’ normal childcare arrangements generally unavailable, Canadian employees (other than some essential workers) began to...more
On July 16, 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau announced a federal investment of more than $19 billion that will provide support to Canadians through the Safe Restart Agreement....more
On April 27, 2020, Ontario released a Framework for Reopening Our Province. This Framework contemplates the gradual reopening of the province in three stages, with each stage lasting for approximately two-to-four weeks to...more
7/16/2020
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Ontario ,
Popular ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Workplace Safety
On June 16, 2020, Ontario released a Guide to help employers satisfy their responsibilities under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect workers...more
On April 27, 2020, Ontario released a Framework for Reopening Our Province. This Framework contemplates the gradual reopening of the province in three stages, with each stage lasting for approximately two-to-four weeks to...more
6/15/2020
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Ontario ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Workplace Safety
Although Canadian employers that provide essential services have remained open since the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, other employers were required to close their physical operations. Despite this, the nature of the...more
On April 30, 2020, in anticipation of the gradual reopening of its economy, Ontario announced that it had released safety guidelines to enable employers to protect workers, customers, and the general public. The guidelines...more