New Federal Government Economic Provisions Regarding COVID-19
Download the March 18, 2020 press release from the Federal Government here.
Excerpt:
Temporary Income Support for Workers and Parents
For Canadians without paid sick leave (or similar workplace accommodation) who are sick, quarantined or forced to stay home to care for children, the Government is:
- Waiving the one-week waiting period for those individuals in imposed quarantine that claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits. This temporary measure is in effect as of March 15, 2020.
- Waiving the requirement to provide a medical certificate to access EI sickness benefits.
- Introducing the Emergency Care Benefit providing up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks. This flat-payment Benefit would be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and provide income support to:
- Workers, including the self-employed, who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits.
- Workers, including the self-employed, who are taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19, such as an elderly parent, but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits.
- Parents with children who require care or supervision due to school closures, and are unable to earn employment income, irrespective of whether they qualify for EI or not.
Application for the Benefit will be available in April 2020, and require Canadians to attest that they meet the eligibility requirements. …read the rest here…
Update #2 on City Action Related to COVID-19
In case you have not yet seen this via email or posted at your worksite:
To All Staff:
Effective Wednesday, March 18, all City of Burnaby public facilities including community centres, arenas, libraries, arts and cultural facilities, golf courses and restaurants (City) will be closed until further notice. All centre supervisors are bring notified of the upcoming closures.
The decision to close the facilities is guided by information and directive issued by the provincial and federal governments for the purposes of containing and mitigating the transmission of COVID-19 in the community. The closure will affect many Burnaby residents and their children and I am certain it is a decision not welcome by many. We are in a critical time and we must undertake drastic measures before it is too late to respond.
Although many Burnaby civic facilities will be closed, all staff that are scheduled to work at these facilities will continue to report for work at their assigned work location. They may be re-assigned to other duties or functions in order to respond to an anticipated high volume of calls from the public on the closure.
City administration and Communication are preparing FAQs for staff and the information will be available tomorrow for distribution. City web site and social media will be the source of information for latest update. If you have any specific questions on your work schedule affected by the closure or time off request to care for your family members, please contact your department manager or director for direction.
As always, I will make myself available as much as I can to address any concerns or suggestions you may have related to our plan of action. I also want to thank CUPE Local 23 and IAFF Local 323 in working with the City management team during this difficult period.
Lambert Chu, P. Eng.
City Manager
Direct: 604-294-7466
Fax: 604-294-7733
City of Burnaby | Office of the City Manager
4949 Canada Way | Burnaby, BC V5G 1M2
Meetings and events suspended until further notice
All CUPE 23 education, membership meetings and events are cancelled for the next 30 days. The office will remain operating at regular hours 8:00am- 5:00 pm.
Please keep updated on City of Burnaby – Local Government page for information regarding COVID-19
CUPE 23 is working with City Management to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
For further information please refer to the British Columbia Center for Disease Control for best practices in prevention.
Further updates upcoming…
In solidarity,
Bruce Campbell
President
CUPE 23
Update #1 on City Action Related to COVID-19
In case you have not yet seen this via email or posted at your worksite:
From: “Chu, Lambert” <Lambert.Chu@burnaby.ca>
Date: March 12, 2020 at 11:30:30 AM PDT
To: All Subscribers <AllSubscribers@burnaby.ca>
Subject: Update on City Action Related to COVID-19
To All City Staff:
Yesterday, the World Health Organization concluded their assessment of the COVID-19 situation and declared the outbreak as pandemic. Although the risk level is still low in British Columbia, we all need to take additional steps to continue our effort on containment and minimizing transmission of the virus. As part of the City’s Pandemic Guideline Plan, the City has initiated several measures including the following:
1. The City’s Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Level 1 was activated yesterday (March 11, 2020) and Dave Critchley, Director Public Safety and Community Services has taken on the EOC Director position and will report to me directly. Dave will be supported by a team of City staff in the areas of planning, logistics, operations, documentation, communication and risk management. The EOC Director will provide periodic updates to staff on emergency measures that may be required and how they would affect City operations, events and businesses. I will continue to brief Council on the developing situation and obtain Council approval and authority as needed.
2. The City is mindful of the need to contain the spread of COVID-19 and re-emphasizes that if staff feel unwell, they should stay home and seek medical help. The City has developed a Letter of Understanding with CUPE Local 23 to provide income protection for employees who test positive to COVID-19 and do not have access to the City’s sick benefit plan. In addition, operating guidelines have also been established for employees who are required to self-isolate as directed by a health authority and for employees who voluntarily self-isolate as a result of returning from a country that has a Level 3 Travel Health Notice. The Letter of Agreement and operating guidelines have been distributed to department directors and managers to inform them of the approved temporary measures. If you wish to obtain more information on the new policy, please contact your division manager or department director.
3. The City is reviewing a work from home policy that will apply to employees who are approved to work from home due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 situation. More details on this policy will be provided in my next update.
4. As part of the containment measures, the City has temporarily suspended approval of out-of-town training and conference requests. For employees who received prior approval to attend out-of-town conferences and training, we will review each case by case and determine the best way to minimize potential exposure of staff to COVID-19.
I will continue to provide updates on any City policy and operational changes as needed to address the spread of COVID-19. In the meantime, please remember to follow good hand washing and best hygiene practice.
Lambert Chu, P. Eng.
City Manager
Direct: 604-294-7466
Fax: 604-294-7733City of Burnaby | Office of the City Manager
4949 Canada Way | Burnaby, BC V5G 1M2
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