Updates for the week of September 7, 2020
Newfoundland and Labrador:
- Rotational workers from Newfoundland and Labrador who work outside Atlantic Canada in another Canadian province or territory can call 811 when they arrive home and arrange for COVID-19 testing as early as day five of their 14-day self-isolation period.
- Workers are reminded that testing is free and is covered under the Newfoundland and labrador Medical Care Plan.
- These self-isolation and testing guidelines do not apply to international rotational workers because the federal government’s quarantine order requires anyone returning to Canada to self-isolate for 14 days.
- Click here for more guidance for rotational workers.
Prince Edward Island:
- Health PEI has expanded access to COVID-19 testing with new drop-in, no-appointment screening clinics established across the province.
- The drop-in options are available in O’Leary, Summerside, Borden, Charlottetown and Three Rivers (Montague).
- Learn more about COVID-19 testing in PEI.
Nova Scotia:
- The province is easing some self-isolation requirements for out-of-province rotational workers when they return to Nova Scotia.
- A rotational worker is someone who has a set schedule where they alternate between living in Nova Scotia and working outside the province, such as an Alberta oil worker.
- The changes do not apply to rotational workers who work outside of Canada.
- Read the official release to learn which activities have been approved.
Ontario:
- The Ontario government is providing more than $5.5 million to help support the film and television industry, create jobs, and promote economic development in North Bay and surrounding area.
- Funding is being delivered to four production companies through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC). Since June 2018, the NOHFC has invested more than $193 million in 1,386 projects in Northern Ontario, leveraging more than $748 million in investment and creating or sustaining 3,912 jobs.
- Read the official release.
- The province is investing over $2.9 million to fund eight research projects that aim to support Ontario’s response to COVID-19.
- These projects will focus on a wide variety of areas such as supporting the mental health and well-being of families and children, assessing the long-term health effects of COVID-19, the development of an app to better manage the care of patients, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of wearing masks to block the virus.
- Read the official release.
Manitoba:
- The suspension of Manitoba Student Aid loans repayments will end Sept. 30. The Manitoba government will continue working to help reduce the financial burden on post secondary students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Click here to learn more about Manitoba’s COVID-19 protection plan.
British Columbia:
- The provincial government is investing $1.6 billion in a fall and winter preparedness plan that will significantly build upon and strengthen measures that respond to the health-care requirements of COVID-19.
- The province will spend $44.1 million to launch the Health Career Access Program and recruit an estimated 7,000 health-care workers in long-term care homes and assisted-living facilities throughout the province.
- The program will provide a path for approximately 3,000 applicants who may not previously have had health-care experience to receive on-the-job training. New hires in the program will start in a health-care support worker position and receive paid training that leads to full qualification as a health-care assistant.
- Learn more about the Health Career Access Program.
- The British Columbia Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction is providing more than $329,000 to GROWcery Food Network Society for its COVID-19 Food Security program. Participants will learn new skills and gain work experience in carpentry, joinery, landscaping and gardening as they build a therapeutic garden for the community.
- Participants will also receive certification in First Aid Level 2, Foodsafe, MarketSafe, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), forklift, backhoe/bobcat and scissor-lift operation.
- Anyone interested in applying for the project should contact their local WorkBC Centre.
- Click here to find a WorkBC Centre in your area.
- The provincial government is spending $611,000 for up to 40 eligible British Columbians to access a unique online training program at Okanagan College and gain work experience to prepare them for jobs in the hospitality industry.
- The Hospitality Professional Program Project-Based Labour Market Training (PBLMT) project is recruiting eligible applicants living in and around Kelowna, Salmon Arm, Penticton, Revelstoke, Sicamous and Vernon.
- Anyone interested in applying to the program or finding out about eligibility requirements can contact their local WorkBC centre.
- Click here to find a WorkBC Centre in your area.